Accidental Love
by Won Tawn
Summary: Deidara kidnaps Sakura as bait for Naruto. Will his captive become his affair? DeiSaku
1. On the Trail

HI! –glomps-

This is my first fan fic, so sorry if it sucks… or if it's short. I wanted to start with something relatively simple, and something that I read a lot… So I might as well write a DeiSaku… Although I'm not actually _for_ that pairing… 'cause Dei is mine D

But let's stop at that before I get screeching fangirls in my reviews D

And I had the hardest time coming up with a name for this…

Oh oh! And I should probably put this…

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Although I like to pretend that Deidara is mine. But alas, 'tis not true. TT

DON'T SUE ME!!

Why it's rated M: for language. Probably. And I _might_ have some smut later. Maybe. 3

Lurve: won tawn

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**Accidental Love**

**Chapter One- On the Trail**

The sun beat down on her cheeks unevenly as she ran through the trees, a sense of urgency pushing her as hard as she could go.

The trail had been so hard to find, they couldn't loose it now. They had worked for _years _to find any trace of his trail.

Through the corner of her eye, she could see her teammates. Naruto, the ignorant, loudmouth blonde. Kakashi, the mysterious, perverted, semi-masked man. Sai, the socially challenged artist.

And all of them were her boys. She would trust her life in any of their hands.

Sasuke was close. She could feel it in her gut.

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Deidara sighed in annoyance. This trail was _too _easy to follow. Surely the 'great' Sasuke Uchiha could tell that he was being sloppy. And most likely, the Jinkuriki and his team would notice that too. Any half-assed ninja who was determined to follow this would. Was the Uchiha _trying _to let his old team catch up?

_Pathetic._ Deidara thought with a smirk. Did little Uchiha still have a soft spot for his friends?

"Sempai…" the annoying masked man said.

"What do you want Tobi, hmm?" Deidara used Tobi's name as if it were an insult.

"Why are we following Uchiha's trail again..? I forgot."

"_Baka_, hmm" Deidara said quiet enough that Tobi wouldn't hear. "We're following Uchiha's trail because the Jinkuriki will probably be following it as well, hmm."

Even with only seeing Tobi's one visible eye, Deidara could tell he was confused so he added, "And we are under orders from Leader-Sama to capture the Nine-Tailed, hmm."

"Ohhhh. Riiiiiight. I remember now. Thanks Sempai. You're so smart." Tobi replied with the utmost respect.

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"Sakura. I think we should stop. You're tired." Kakashi indicated at her heavy breathing without breaking pace.

"No. I'm fine. Let's just catch up to Sasuke." She replied stubbornly.

Kakashi gave her a glare that said that what he had said was an order. Not a suggestion.

"Fine."

All four ninja stopped. They dropped down to the ground from the high tree branch.

Naruto settled with his back against a tree, using his small ninja pack as a pillow. Sai also rested his back against a tree, though he pulled out a sketch pad and rested it on a knee that was pulled up close to his chest. Kakashi crouched in the middle of a clearing, trying to start a fire.

Sakura landed on a low-hanging branch, her feet dangling. She hadn't even realized that darkness was staring to settle in. With a small sigh, she hopped off of her branch and walked over towards Kakashi.

She crouched down next to him. "Need some help?" she teased.

"Nah, I'm all good." He teased back, "Besides, you'd probably burn something down."

"Fine. No _medic_ care for you." Sakura said, perking up the perverted ninja's mind, if for only a second.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." He said flatly.

"Come on. Kakashi-_sensei_. You know you love my evil sarcasm." She said before sticking her tongue out at him.

"Of course Sakura. As much as you love noogies." Kakashi said just as he reached around her shoulders to keep her from running while he ground his knuckles into her pink-tinted hair.

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"What. The. Fuck. Hmm." Deidara mumbled, seeing this display through his scope.

A while back, he had decided to simply wait for the Jinkuriki's team to catch up. It was a lot less work that way. A smirk played against his mouth. He zoomed up on the Jinkuriki's face. It was flooded with jealousy. Perhaps this was a weakness he could use.

A plan started to unfold itself in Deidara's mind. He had no doubt that the boy would give up chasing this girl. As determined as he was to find Uchiha, he would worked twice as hard for this kunoichi. He knew the Jinkuriki could not stand to lose _another _of his friends.

Deidara's smirk grew even larger, if that was even physically possible…

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YAY! How did you like chapter one? Sorry It's so short!!!

It was short, right?

REVIEW! Be as harsh as you wish D

I need the constructive criticism. I need to make my stories even better P

HAHA! I have the plot unraveling in my head right now O

Yup.

And thank you so much to everyone who reads, favorites, watches, or reviews this 3

♥lurve♥ won tawn.


	2. Never Let Your Guard Down

A/N:

Welcome to chapter two... I'm gonna try and make this one _a lot _longer...

Anyways... yup. It's SOOOOO hard to put a hmm on the end of all of Deidara's sentences TT

Naruto and it's characters do not belong to me. Though I like to pretend that Deidara does.

DON'T SUE ME!!

Lurve won tawn

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**Chapter Two: Never Let Your Guard Down**

Sakura sat with her feet sticking out towards the small fire Kakashi had built. Naruto sat to her left, Sai to her right. Kakashi sat across from her.

Sakura could tell that Naruto was anxious, despite the way he sprawled out on the ground. The though of losing Sasuke's trail now, when they felt so close, would tear both of them to shreds.

Sai seemed to have no interest other than fulfilling his mission.

Kakashi appeared calm, but she knew, deep _deep _down, somewhere, he was just as anxious as she was.

"So... When can we continue?" Sakura asked to break the silence.

"Sunrise." Kakashi said softly. He seemed worried. But what could he worry about?

_Losing Sasuke's trail. _Sakura's inner supplied for her. That was only a guess though. For all she knew, it could be about how much it would cost him in ramen when they got back to Konoha.

Naruto seemed to be zoning out. His gaze had been on the flickering flames for about ten minutes already.

"Naruto, if you stare at the fire too long, it can damage your eyes." Her medic instinct spoke for her.

He looked up at the sound of his name. "Right." he mumbled, "Sorry, Sakura-Chan."

She gave him a sweet smile, but his gaze shifted straight back to the fire.

"Naruto!" Sakura called more harshly, "I said that you are going to damage your eyes by staring into the fire!"

Naruto sighed, slightly annoyed, but shifted his gaze elsewhere.

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Deidara smirked slightly. As soon as they had drifted off to sleep, he would make his move. Although he would prefer coming in loaded with his 'art' and grab her, he needed to be stealthy.

They had to know he had been there, but not until he had positioned himself correctly, farther away.

A loud snore interrupted his thoughts.

Deidara snorted with amusement and annoyance. He kicked Tobi awake.

"Be quiet you idiot, or they'll know we're here, hmm."

"Sorry, Sempai." Tobi mumbled sleepily.

Through his scope, Deidara could see that the blonde had fallen asleep already, and the pale one seemed pretty close to it.

Though the gray-haired man and Sakura looked like they could go for hours more, talking.

With a snort, he leaned back and slumped against the tree. He may have to wait awhile.

"Sempai, do you want to play cards?"

"No Tobi, hmm. And I don't have any cards." Deidara sighed.

"Well, I have cards, Sempai. We can play." Tobi sounded as excited as a little school girl.

A huge frown spread across Deidara's face. He knew he had to now; Tobi would _not _leave him alone until he did, now that he had asked. "Fine, hmm."

Deidara took the deck from Tobi and shuffled it roughly. Today he was not going to go easy.

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Sakura sat cross-legged next to Kakashi. She had long since abandoned her spot across from him. Naruto and Sai were already sleeping, but her mind was too busy for rest.

The conversation between them had gone from how the weather would hold out, to the mission, to Sasuke, to home in Konoha, to what everyone must be doing, to just simple, plain small talk.

"So have you heard about Shikamaru?" Sakura asked her previous sensei.

"No," Kakashi started, "what about him?"

"Well, he's going to marry Temari from Suna."

"Really? He's a brave man." Kakashi stated with respect.

"I know. Gaara is a lot better now, but he still is scary if he wants to be."

"I was talking about Temari." Kakashi chuckled, "She's a tough girl. And she scares me."

Sakura laughed at the copy-ninja's fear of a girl who was, like, half his age.

"What? You would be scared too if you were a guy..." He said, trying to justify himself. It wasn't working.

Sakura laughed even harder than she had been. Her face was starting to turn red and she couldn't breathe.

"Breath, Sakura." Kakashi said calmly. When that didn't work, he reacted by pulling her into his arms.

Saskura's breath returned. Her face, however, turned an even deeper shade of red.

Now that was awkward.

"Umm.." Sakura blushed even harder.

"Sorry." Kakashi mumbled, releasing her from his arms. "You shouldn't scare me like that, though."

"Right."

"Well, I'm going to go to sleep then."

"O-okay." Sakura stuttered. Kakashi had... suprided... her. She hadn't expected him to _hold _her.

With a sigh, she decided sleep was best for her too.

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Deidara laid down his cards. He had beaten Tobi_ twenty-seven _times, and _still _he would not give up.

_So much for not going easy on him... _he thought with a frown. Finally, when he _allowed _Tobi to beat him, ending their game, he zoomed in on the Jinkuriki's camp site... to find that they were all asleep.

"Finally! Hmm." Deidara mumbled. "Now for the fun part, hmm."

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A/N:

I know, I know.

Still short...

But it's better, right?

I'll work extra hard on the next chapter P It might tak longer though.

Don't give up on me yet!!!!!

It's so easy to say 'You're chapters are too short!'. It's a whole other thing to write them.

Review, favorite, add to alert. I'll ♥love♥ you forever.

Lurve won tawn.


	3. Tobi Is Still Here

**A/N:**

Thanks for the reviews everyone! (And all of the alerts and favorites!) Like I said, I worked extra hard on this chapter to make it longer… So yeah. I'm taking everyone's advice from the reviews. (Thanks MysticalSpirits all of the constructive criticism! I'm taking it all to heart… and thanks to everyone else too.)

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS! But I have fantasies that Deidara is mine. Alas, 'tis but a dream.

Luffles, won tawn

**-----**

**Chapter three: Tobi is Still Here**

With all the stealth he could muster, Deidara crept towards the campsite. Although he was still a fair distance away and he was suppressing his chakra, he did not want to disturb these high level ninja.

Especially the copy-ninja.

Just thinking about Kakashi made his left arm ache.

Tobi was left in the tree they had been staking out in; he was too noisy, clumsy, and idiotic for _this _job.

Deidara lifted up his golden bangs and zoomed in with his scope. The trees were too thick.

_Why is it that I have to be used for a _stealth_ mission?! _Deidara thought angrily. Leader should surely know that he wasn't a 'stealthy' person. He was the type who loved to be noticed. To explode whatever he felt.

"Stop thinking about explosions, hmm." He whispered to himself, attempting to calm the wriggling of his hand-tongues.

It didn't help.

He continued to inch towards the sleeping Nin as fast as he dared, though he knew he would have to hurry up and finish before daylight beat him to it.

_At last. _He thought, satisfied. He could see the nearly motionless bodies without the help of his scope.

Now, all he had to do was grab the pink-haired kunoichi without the other three noticing.

Fat chance of that.

As soon as he clamped one of his tongue-wielding hands over her mouth, she made a sound. It sounded like a 'mmphh' but he couldn't tell.

The pink-haired girl quickly attempted to break his hold with a counter that would send him flying towards the ground.

But Deidara was quicker. He quickly moved his body away from her movement while maintaining his hold on her and her mouth.

Sakura made another 'mmph' sound.

Deidara dropped a small clay bird that expanded before it even hit the ground. He supposed he should go pick up Tobi. Eventually.

With a sigh, Deidara pulled out one of his precious stands of hair along with a torn of piece of Akatsuki cloak. That was to assure that they would know who had been there.

With a single bound, he leaped onto the clay bird that would carry them away faster than any ninja could run. He guided it towards the tree that Tobi was waiting in.

Tobi wasted no time hoping on, obviously having been left behind before.

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At this point, Deidara was sitting on his clay bird. Sakura was sandwiched between him and Tobi.

Salty remains of silent tears stained her face. They made her even madder. What better way to show weakness than crying? Was she crying out of fear for herself or her friends? Sakura didn't think she could answer that.

"Don't worry, hmm. We're not going to do anything to _you_." Deidara said as if reading her thoughts. He only felt slightly awkward having a pretty girl squashed up against his chest. _Yes_, he thought she was pretty.

"Then why bother taking me?" she protested.

"Jichuuriki, hmm." He answered simply.

"No!" she screamed at him, "You are _not_ going to use me to get Naruto!" Sakura raised her arm to swing one of her deadly punches at him.

"I wouldn't do that, hmm." Deidara said without even shifting to look at her.

"Why not. _Hmm?_" She asked, mocking him.

With a frown, "Because if you kill me, then this lovely art you are flying on will crash. And you'll die, hmm."

"At least I'd have died killing two Akatsuki."

Deidara turned to face her, amazed that she would sacrifice herself to simply kill two Akatsuki. "And what about your friend Naruto, hmm? He has already lost one friend. What if he lost another; what do you think he'd do?"

Sakura shifted her gaze down. Her hand followed. "I _will _kill you." She said softly.

Deidara smirked. "Cheer up, girlie. Be a good little hostage and smile, hmm."

"My. Name. Is. _Not_. _Girlie_." Her eyes glared with murderous intent at him.

"Um, Tobi is still here you know…" Tobi said awkwardly from the back.

"Shut up!" both of the arguing ninja shouted at him.

"Tobi is sorry." He said, even more awkwardly.

"Why _shouldn't _I call you girlie, hmm? You're a hostage, hmm."

"Because I'll punch out all of your _fucking _teeth. All _three _sets." Sakura's face was starting to get flushed with anger.

"Ah, but if you did that, I'd have to do… something… to you, hmm." Deidara smirked, his eyes becoming suggestive.

"Pervert!" she punched his shoulder. Not enough to impair their flight, but enough to cause discomfort.

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Back at the campsite, Kakashi was arousing. The first stream of morning light was breaking through the trees. The first thing he noticed was the missing chakra signature.

"Sakura!"

With that, he quickly woke Naruto and Sai.

Sai saw it first. The torn shred of fabric. And the hair.

As soon as Kakashi identified the cloth as Akatsuki cloak, he growled, "Deidara."

The three anxious ninja quickly devised a quick strategy before following what trail they could find.

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Deidara's frown grew. "You best be careful what you do _girl_, hmm. You don't want to be dead when your friends get here, do you?"

"You wouldn't kill me. I'm your bargaining chip."

"I wouldn't be so sure girlie, hmm." As he said that, Sakura's frown grew.

"Hmph." Sakura turned away from Deidara.

Deidara turned back towards the front of the bird.

"My name isn't girlie. It's Sakura." She muttered. It didn't escape Deidara's notice. He shifted his gaze back towards her, just for a moment.

"Sure. Sakura, hmm." He sighed. It was always easier to deal with a somewhat content hostage than an angry one. At least, that's how he rationalized his act of 'kindness'. It really wasn't like him.

Sakura perked her head up. She hadn't expected him to actually call her by her name. "Thank you."

"Whatever, hmm." He mumbled.

Sakura shook her head, annoyed. "Yeah, whatever." She began to swing her legs back and forth, despite the awkward position; she was bored.

"Don't do that, hmm."

"Why not?" Sakura demanded.

"Because I told you not to, hmm." Deidara said with annoyance.

Sakura sighed. She stopped swinging her legs, but started to hum instead.

"Don't do that either, hmm!"

"I'm bored." She stated flatly.

"Fine, whatever, hmm." Deidara guided his bird to the ground.

"Now what are you doing?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"Finding something for you to do for awhile. I don't particularly like being annoyed, hmm."

"Oh, so you're just going to land? Like that's going to help any."

"There's a town a few miles ahead. I'll take you shopping or whatever the fuck you want to do, hmm! Women are so… _needy!_"

"You would know." Sakura said flatly.

"_What. Did. You. Just. Say, hmm?!_" Deidara growled.

"Umm... Tobi is _still _here, you know…" Tobi muttered sheepishly.

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**A/N:**

Aww… they're fighting!

And, no, I didn't forget about Tobi. I just was focusing on building the relationship between Deidara and Sakura… despite how… argumental… it is. Yeah. And I think Deidara is fed up with being annoyed. Taking a girl shopping?! Wow.

So, was this chapter any better? I tried to make it longer… Review and let me know!

Pweeeeeeeaaaaase?

♥ won tawn


	4. Bombs and Blushes

**A/N:**

Sorry for the long update… I've been really busy with school, volleyball, and funeral related things. Sorries D:

Naruto and it's characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me.

Oh, and sorry for all the format changes in how I set up the story. I'll be sure to stop changing all of that..

Love won tawn

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**Chapter Four: Bombs and Blushes**

"I said that _you would know_." Sakura said calmly. She wasn't intimidated by the Akatsuki member anymore; she was a lot stronger than the genin she once was.

Deidara quickly jerked the bird in an aerial flip, nearly causing Sakura to fall off of the bird.

"So you take off your anger by trying to make me fall?!" She yelled in anger.

Deidara quickly cupped his hand over her mouth. "Be quiet girlie. You aren't in the position to be making me angry, hmm."

Sakura lowered her eyes. She knew he was right, but her _pride_ made it hard. With all the years she had spent training to become this strong, she didn't want to revert back into a weakling. The debate between her pride and common sense was raging on in her head, fighting for the power.

As soon as Deidara removed his hand from over her mouth, she mumbled, "Fuck you."

Deidara did his best to ignore it, but it physically showed that it got to him; his body tensed and his face was fighting the redness seeping into it. "Tobi, are you hungry, hmm?" he attempted to change the subject.

"Sure am, Deidara-sempai." Tobi was happy just to be acknowledged.

"Fine, hmm. We'll stop then."

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Deidara hopped off the bird as it hovered a few feet above the ground. When it landed, Tobi jumped off and offered an assisting hand to Sakura.

She refused it.

Sakura jumped off on her own to see Deidara mumbling to himself as he attempted to build a fire.

"What is it with men and starting fires?" she asked aloud.

Deidara shot her a menacing glare.

"Gods." She mumbled to herself. She snatched the flint away from Deidara so she could start the fire. Which she did in a matter of seconds.

"What is it with _women _and showing off, hmm?" he said in an annoyed tone.

Sakura ignored his words as sat down near the fire, stretching her hands towards the flames. Once again, she had failed to notice the dimming of natural light until now. Her eyes wandered around, calculating the chance of escape.

"Don't even think about it, hmm." Deidara mumbled, addressing her actions, "A kunoichi couldn't be able to escape two Akatsuki members, hmm."

She quickly stood and flung a kick at him. Deidara grabbed her foot, mid-swing, and lifted it up until she fell. "Told you. And imagine how easily I could have broken your leg too, hmm."

Sakura rubbed her butt sorely. "Whatever." She curled up in a ball and closed her eyes.

Tobi unrolled his sleeping bag across from Sakura, obviously willing to forget his hunger to avoid attention from the two fuming ninja.

"Tobi, didn't you say you were hungry?" Sakura asked without shifting from her position, "Deidara is _so _inconsiderate of his partner."

She was playing Tobi as an insult to Deidara.

"Tobi isn't _that _hungry. He will be fine." Tobi said, trying not to anger his sempai.

Deidara sighed, "I need to blow something up, hmm. Tobi, watch her." He walked towards the clay bird that was still sitting there.

"_Real _subtle." Sakura grumbled. Her eyes were assessing Tobi, calculating her chance of beating him. She knew Deidara would be caught up in his 'art' long enough for her to gain a nice distance, maybe even find her team.

"Tobi wouldn't think about escaping, Sakura. You would get hurt."

She blinked. A _serious _side to this idiotic, humorous, masked man? '_Well, he _is _an Akatsuki..._'her mind rationed. "Right…" she mumbled to him. Why could they always tell when she was thinking of escape? It wasn't fair to her.

"You might as well sleep, Sakura." Tobi suggested.

It was almost creepy how he said her name. "Nah, I'll wait for Mr. Stealth to get back." She said with a toll of her eyes. As she said that, she felt a series of strong vibrations on the ground accompanied by a distant 'boom!' "And that would be him…" she muttered.

Deidara returned shortly after the explosions with a manic grin spread across his face.

"Better?" Sakura said mockingly.

He ignored her sarcasm, "Duh, hmm." Deidara took his seat pretty close to Sakura. It was popping her comfort zone. Noticing the expression on Sakura's face, "Gotta make sure you don't run away, hmm. What a pain you are. I don't get any sleep, hmm." He frowned.

"Whatever." She curled into a more comfortable and warm, position to sleep in and closed her eyes.

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Deidara opened his eyes, groaning at the light. _Crap! _He though. He had fallen asleep.

He lifted his head to look for his bait… and found her drooling on his chest. A sweep of panic took him. There was a woman. With her head on his chest. Sleeping. With her head on chest. With her head on his chest. With her head on his chest..! With her head on his chest!

He sat up roughly, his cheeks painted a light pink. His motion woke Sakura. She opened her eyes to see that she was half sprawled over Deidara, the man who took the role of her captor. She also sat up quickly, avoiding his gaze. Her cheeks matched Deidara's.

They both were muttering inaudible words of apology to each other.

Deidara poked the fire with a stick to try to relight the glowing embers.

Breakfast? No such thing for these Akatsukis and captive.

As soon as Deidara kicked Tobi awake, they hopped onto the clay bird.

Sakura's face was now conscious and embarrassed to be pressed up against Deidara's back. Stupid birds! Why did they have to be so… small?!

She couldn't tell, but Deidara's face was also red. He was also conscious of what… _parts_… of her body were pressing against him.

The whole flight, they listened to Tobi blabber on about random things.

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**A/N:**

AHG! I'm sorry it's so short. D:

I'll work harder on the next chapter… I was just trying to focus on moving the story along, not how long it was. Sorries.. -sweatdrop-


	5. Kisses and Countries

**A/N:**

Whoo! Chapter five. Si. Ja. Yes.

Anyways… yeah.

**Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto; though I wish he would lend me Deidara.**

♥ the one and only won tawn

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**Chapter Five: Kisses and Countries**

"God, Tobi! Would you shut up, hmm?!" Deidara yelled at his partner. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stay sane with Tobi. Wait… he was already partially insane. That wasn't Tobi's doing though. For the most part.

"Sorry Sempai." Tobi muttered, hurt.

Sakura shook her head at Deidara; although his partner _was _extremely annoying, he shouldn't treat him like he did.

Tobi tried to cross his arms and face the back of the flying structure, but it only resulted in pushing Sakura practically on top of Deidara. Both of their faces were beet red.

"Tobi!" they cried in unison.

It took Tobi a moment to register that they were addressing him. He turned his head back to face them. Through his one visible eye, they could only see shock and panic. They clay bird was starting to veer, partially uncontrolled. It took him a moment more to turn around to give them space enough to shift.

Sakura shoved herself off of Deidara. Her eyes were avoiding his. His eyes, however, lingered on her. He was examining her body language. He wanted to try something.

"Hey, Girlie. Hmm."

Sakura turned her head towards him, and as soon as she did, Deidara slammed his lips onto hers. As he had anticipated, she had sat there in shock for a moment with her face growing a deeper shade of red with every passing second.

He could tell that she was struggling to decide whether or not to kiss him back. The problem was that he was too.

After a few awkward seconds of that, Sakura parted her lips just enough to grant entrance into her mouth.

Deidara was still struggling with his mind fighting over what to do. Oh, the temptation of a beautiful, strong girl's mouth versus his duty.

Temptation won.

Deidara pushed his tongue into Sakura's mouth and began to nibble on her lower lip. She sighed into his mouth. He responded by switching his attention to her tongue. He sucked on it softly and then started to-

"Sempai..? Sakura..?" Tobi interrupted their sweet kiss.

Sakura took the brief shot of reality and snapped her head away from his.

Deidara gave Tobi a murderous glare.

He stole a glance at Sakura. She had suddenly become very interested with a little bump in the clay. Her face was tinted pink, as it had been since that morning. Her body was stiff, alert, trying to keep her senses. Deidara sighed.

He shot one more glare at Tobi before turning his attention to navigating.

They were close.

How long had he been kissing Sakura? It had seemed like a brief minute or two, but from how far along they were, it appeared as if it had been longer.

Through the awkward silence he guided the bird down to the location.

It appeared to be a crumbling old house.

_In the middle of the Earth Country._

Deidara landed the bird in an open area close to the house. All three ninja jumped off. Sakura stayed noticeably closer to Tobi.

Deidara guided the two other nin into the ancient house.

Man, he was pissed. _Leader_ obviously thought he was _incapable _of completing this mission on his own. He knew the pair that would be joining them soon wouldn't grant Sakura the mild freedom she had had, nor any sort of affair.

_Damn_, he thought. Then… he realized he had a few days until the other damn Akatsuki pair would arrive… And he should take advantage of that time.

"Tobi." He said quickly, "I need you to go out to that shed and see if there is any wood for that fireplace, hmm."

Such a task would keep Tobi busy for a while.

As soon as Tobi shut the door behind him, Deidara grabbed the tense and nervous Sakura's arm and hauled her into the kiss.

She struggled against him, obviously not wanting anything to happen between her; little miss goody-two-shoes, and him; missing nin and Akatsuki.

He pulled back and stared into her eyes; they were clouded with confusion.

"Sorry, love. Hmm."

'_Great! Now I'm _apologizing' he thought angrily.

He turned away and walked up the creaking staircase to a depressingly familiar room.

Sakura stood in the same spot. God, she was confused. The confusion made her angry. So angry that she could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

She shook her head stubbornly, trying to rid herself of these tears. Weakness.

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Deidara slumped down onto the bed that sat in the room. It still had sheets and blankets, as the dresser still had clothes inside of it and nick-knacks on top. A thick layer of dust covered all of it.

He sneezed loudly. A frown spread across his face as his mind wandered to Sakura.

He couldn't lie to himself; he was attracted to her. '_Such a beautiful, strong, kind, sweet, happy, powerfu- snap out of it, Dei!_' he was arguing with himself again.

"It's just physical, hmm." He lied to himself.

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Sakura quietly walked up the stairs she had seen Deidara climb a few minutes ago. She chose a room farthest away from his chakra signature as she could get.

The room was bare and dusty, as she had expected from an old, abandoned house. Little did she know that almost every other room had furnishing.

Sighing, she curled up in the corner that was farthest away from the other rooms. Her eyelids were starting to feel heavy. Sleep was starting to overcome her.

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Deidara felt Sakura's chakra signature pass him and fade slightly. He sighed. Had he mistaken the emotion in her eyes for lust? Probably. He wasn't exactly the best at deciphering women's emotions.

He really hated himself right now; he'd probably just screwed up any chances he had ever had with her. With a sigh, he rested his head on the old, dusty pillow and closed his eyes.

Deidara awoke nearly an hour later with Tobi hovering over him.

"Sempai! They're here!" Tobi squealed.

"What?! They weren't s'ppossed to get here for a few more days, hmm!"

Tobi pondered that for a moment, "Well, they must have gotten here early then, Sempai."

"Do duh, hmm." Deidara rolled his eyes at his idiotic partner.

"Oh, and they are waiting for you downstairs. They want a report of the mission so far." Tobi informed his Sempai.

"Great, hmm." A very angry Deidara grumbled.

----------------------------

Downstairs, stood a very impatient Itachi and Kisame. They grumbled as they saw Deidara come down the stairs.

Itachi was the first to speak. "So where is the kunoichi? What have you done to contain her? What time is the Jinchuriki expected to arrive?"

Deidara rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Upstairs. Threat. Unknown, hmm."

"Well, that just shows how irresponsible you are, kid." The fish man growled.

"Yeah, whatever, hmm"

Itachi started towards the stairs.

"Where are you going, hmm?"

"Someone has to check to see if your 'bait' is still there." Itachi said flatly in his normal monotone.

Kisame started towards the door. "Time to see how close the nine-tail boy is." He explained before Deidara could ask.

Deidara sighed and leaned against the nearby couch. What a way to ruin his day; the _fucking_ stupid pair had to get there _early_, they had to call him incompetent, and then they rubbed it in his face by going to do those I things.

This was going to _suck_.

-----------------------

Sakura heard the door to her room open. Odd; she hadn't sensed anyone's chakra. Deidara must have been masking his chakra, she decided.

A hand settled on her shoulder.

"What do you _fucking _want?!" she screamed as she whipped her head up. Her face found itself only a few inches away from that of Itachi Uchiha.

'_Crap._' She thought. She was as good as dead if she had just pissed off the emotionless Uchiha.

The corners of Itachi's mouth curved upward, just a bit. Wait?! Was he… _smiling_?! No… That just _couldn't _be right. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her. Sakura blinked several times, but the Uchiha's mouth was still curved into a very slight grin. It was identical to Sasuke's smile.

"Sakura Haruno, correct?" Itachi asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Wait?! Amusement?! Wasn't he supposed to be emotionless?

Sakura nodded slightly in answer.

Itachi motioned for her to hold out a hand. She did so, hesitantly. He slapped some sort of bracelet onto her wrist.

"Charka seal." He shrugged, "Trying to leave your room will also activate a shock that will cause you to pass out."

With that, he left.

Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest and brought her forehead down to rest on her arms. She stayed that way until she heard a creak, announcing the opening of the door.

She raised her eyes without moving her head. Tobi had a tray of food, which he carried over to her.

Sakura lifted her head and nodded it in thanks before looking at the sorry 'meal'. It consisted of a cracked cup of tea, a slice of bread that look much too hard, and a few cherries. She figured they were intended to be some sort of joke directed at her and her name.

With a sigh, she sipped at the tea. It was bland. Her mind began devising a plan to get out of here. Why hadn't she tried to escape when the measurements to keep her there had been minimal?

The best idea that she could think of was to gain their trust, and hopefully a _little _bit more freedom.

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**A/N:**

Yay! Chapter five! And yay! Kiss P: Do you think it's better length-wise? Let me know in your reviews :D

And I know everyone is kinda OOC… Thanks everyone who reads and reviews. I really appreciate all of your comments and inputs. So do you think Deidara is going to make his move soon, again?

See you next chapter! ♥won tawn


	6. Young People in Love

**A/N:**

:O its chapter six!

I'm very sorry for the long update… I've been pounded with work. Get this: my English teacher assigned three major projects on the same day. D: Plus I had a social life to attend to and Easter. This for me means family all day; church in the morning, one side of the family through lunch, and the other side of the family until late. And volleyball, of course. And a math test to study for and I totally don't get the chapter. And I know I'm blabbing on with excuses so I'll stop. Enjoy the chapter!

**I do not own Naruto and its characters. I'm just borrowing them.**

won tawn

* * *

**Chapter Six: Young People in Love**

Sakura was sitting in the same position she had been in before she fell asleep. Her arms and legs were starting to cramp up and fall asleep.

She stood and stretched her protesting muscles.

A knock on her door sent her into alert mode. Almost instantly, though, she relaxed. Her desperate plan was over-riding her instincts.

Tobi enter several seconds after the knock. He carried another tray of food.

"Thank you Tobi." She said, forcing sweetness. That wasn't too hard with Tobi… he was just so… cute and innocent looking.

"You're welcome Sakura-Chan." He turned, obviously intending to leave.

"Wait, Tobi..?" Sakura called reluctantly, "Would you mind sitting with me for awhile?"

After a quick pause that Sakura assumed to be thought, he replied, "Sure, Sakura-Chan. Only for a few minutes though."

"Hey Tobi? Do you have cards? I'm practically dying with boredom."

Tobi nodded with excitement. She jumped up and ran out of the room without bothering to close the door. He returned in a short instant with a deck of playing cards.

'_This isn't so hard..._' she thought, '_Tobi is a good person to start this plan with._'

Tobi shuffled and dealt the cards. A simple game of Go-Fish…

Several card games and an hour later… "Tobi, hmm!"

Said male jumped when he heard his Sempai call his name. "Uhhhm… I'm up here Sempai…"

A few heavy footsteps were heard as he stomped up the stairs and down the hall. He pushed on the already halfway opened door.

"Oh, you're fucking kidding me, hmm." He mumbled, "You're playing cards with _him_, hmm?" That last part of the statement was obviously indicated towards Sakura.

"Umm. Yeah?" she said unsurely, "It's not like I have anything else to do."

The blonde male rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe. She did have a point. Plus, Itachi has sealed her chakra and basically forced her to stay in her room.

A smirk grew on his face as he walked over to sit between Tobi and Sakura. He noticed the faint blush that Sakura was trying to cover up, which made his smirk grow.

"Go fish!" Sakura announced to Tobi's request to a four.

"Got any… twos?" She asked in Deidara's general direction. She hadn't addressed him by name at all since he'd been there.

"Go fish, hmm."

Sakura hung her head in mock shame.

Deidara figured it was at least lunch by now. No sight of the mass-murderer or the fish man. That was odd…

"Tobi. Would you go get lunch for us, hmm?"

"No, it's alright Tobi." Sakura said quickly. She could feel the heat rushing to her face.

"Tobi is fine, Sakura." The man spoke as he left the room.

Sakura suddenly became very interested with the bent corner of a card.

Deidara quickly scooted right up next to her, so that their sides were touching. She pretended to be so intrigued with the card that she hadn't noticed. So Deidara wrapped his arm around her shoulder; that got a reaction.

Sakura jumped up. Her face was as red as a bucket of ketchup.

"P-please… Don't do that." The pink-haired girl stuttered.

"Why not, hmm?" a sexy smirk grew on Deidara's face.

"B-because." Her face was growing redder by the second. Deidara found himself thinking that she was adorable when she blushed.

Deidara appeared right behind her. He had moved too quickly for her to register it. "Because why, hmm?" he whispered in his ear as he placed his lips softly on her neck. His hands were wrapped around the front of her waist.

Sakura stood there, too shocked to move or even utter a sound. Her face, ears, and neck grew hotter and her stomach got butterflies. She felt faint.

And that's what she did after she realized that Deidara was sucking on her neck.

Sakura blinked her eyes to clear the blurriness. The first thing she saw was Deidara hovering over her. A very upset looking Itachi stood a few feet behind the blonde. '_Oh great… emotion again?_' so far from what she had witnessed of the Uchiha, he seemed to have plenty of emotions, although they weren't boldly expressed.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position. Not a good idea. Now, her face was an inch or two away from Deidara's. She blushed. God, she was doing that so much lately. She had never been this way before, even with Sasuke.

Quickly, before Deidara could react, she scooted herself a few feet back.

Itachi sighed and sighed and shook his head. "Young people who are unaware that they are in love." He muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

Had the supposed 'Emotionless Bastard' just accused her and Deidara of being _lovers_?! That was just _great_.

Deidara smirked at the comment. That also meant that Itachi really didn't care either. Personally, all the emotion coming from Itachi was starting to creep him out. It was so… uncharacteristical of him. "Hey, Uchiha. Something happen between you and fish boy, hmm?"

Itachi grimaced, which proved Deidara's question to be true.

Sakura hugged her knees to her chest. It made her feel so much more secure.

"You should go fix that, hmm."

Surprisingly, the older man took the advice and turned to leave without uttering another word.

And now Sakura and Deidara were alone again.

"Hey, what's taking Tobi so long?" Sakura asked, trying to keep on a simple subject.

"Probably got lost, hmm."

"Oh."

"Yeah, hmm."

"How do you get lost in a house?"

"Dunno, hmm. Ask Tobi."

"Deidara..?" Sakura asked.

"Huh?"

"Are you lusting after me?" So much for staying away from that subject…

"Yeah, hmm."

"Oh." She said dumbly. Now Sakura was completely clueless about what to say, so she stood up.

Deidara stood up too. He took a step towards her.

Part of Sakura was screaming for her to move away, but the other part was screaming to stay. To move closer.

Deidara advanced another step when she didn't move. "Are _you _lusting after _me_, hmm?" He asked her back.

"Uh-huh." She whispered.

That made Deidara's emotions crack. He slammed his body towards her and crushed his lips onto hers. This time, she responded. He nibbled on her lip, begging to be let in. She parted her lips just enough for that. His tongue easily won dominance over hers. Deidara twisted his tongue around hers.

Suddenly, though, Sakura pushed herself away.

Her eyes were clouded.

"Sakura, hmm…" Deidara whispered in an uncharacteristically kind tone. He reached out to her with a hand, only to have it batted away.

"Sakura…" he said again.

Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Sakura… what's wrong, hmm?"

Those tears streamed onto her face like an army of jewels. Her body began to quiver and shake.

Deidara took one long stride to close the distance between them so he could wrap his arms around her. That was the only form of comforting her knew.

* * *

**A/N:**

So… you likey the chapter? Another kiss, a confession, and a hint at some ItachiXKisame :D Aren't I evil? I dun even really like ItaKisa… yup yup. So. Um. See you next chapter?

(Once again, I'm sorry for the long update… it was like 10 days, right?)

won tawn


	7. Itachi Plus Chick Flicks Equals ? ? ?

**A/N: **

Woot! Chapter seven! Yup. And a huuuuuuge thanks to everyone who reads and review this story! And of course everyone who favorites it or adds it to alert! Once again, sorry for such a long update… I've been busy as hell… and then my parents took my computer and internet access away. Meh get in trouble! And you know… I just realized never established how old Deidara and Sakura are! I'll have to do that soon…

**Disclaimer: The Naruto characters only belong to meh in meh dreams! Sad, but true, eh? Think of all the perverted fantasies I could create… hehe.**

won tawn

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Itachi + Chick flicks ??**

Sakura gave in to his embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest.

"Sakura, hmm…" he whispered. He was really at a loss. Deidara, having no clue what to do, began to rub her back with one of his hands.

As if she had only just realized who she was holding, Sakura took a step back. The tears had slowed a great deal. She rubbed her eyes furiously, trying to get them to stop completely.

Deidara sighed; it was back to square one…

"Sakura… Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Oh dear God, he was saying her name a lot.

Her head started to bob up and down, very slightly.

Deidara sat down criss-cross and motioned for her to sit in his lap. Very reluctantly, she did so, although she felt stiff and uncomfortable.

"Now, will you tell me what's wrong, hmm?"

"I-I… I'm…" Sakura paused as she looked for the right word, "_confused_… by my emotions… a-and how I feel about certain _things_…" She trailed off as her voice began to shake and studder.

'_Oh greaaaaaaat._' Sakura thought, '_was _that _a confession?!_'

"I see, hmm." Deidara said, a wry grin tugging on his features. "You shouldn't mind if I do _this _then, hmm!" In one quick motion, he spun Sakura around so that she was straddling his lap and wrapped his arms her back with his clasped hands dangerously close to her butt.

Sakura yelped. She could feel her body stiffening up as the position finally registered fully in her mind. '_Damn my reflexes are bad right now…_'

She wrapped her arms around his neck slowly, as if she were feeding them to a rampaging hippopotamus with rabies.

Deidara noticed her reluctance. His signature twisted grin popped onto his face. "Never had a lover before, hmm." It was more of a statement than a question.

Sakura felt the blush burning in her cheeks. "It's… It's not that I never had one… I've just always been… _busy_." Her vague words purposefully revealed nothing about her normal life or her village.

Without any warning, Deidara crushed his lips onto hers. She let out a startled gasp, which he took advantage of. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, roughly exploring it. After a short hesitation, Sakura fought with his tongue for dominance. The two tongues twined and twisted. Jabbed and fought. In the end as Sakura pulled back gasping for breath, it was obvious that Deidara was the clear cut winner.

"I win! You lose, hmm!" Deidara teased. Sakura responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

"**Deidara**! Get your fucking ass down here!" the distant scream from down stairs came.

Sakura began to stand up so he could go, but he pulled her back down. He overpowered her lips with a sloppy kiss before letting her stand up.

--

Deidara trotted down the stairs in a less-than-happy mood. He was muttering something about fucking people who interrupted him in the middle of…

A very angry Itachi fumed at the bottom of the stairs. Which was weird because that was even more emotion from him.

"Fish Boy, hmm?" Deidara asked simply.

"Kisame. His name is Kisame!" Itachi wailed… like a PMSing girl.

"Umm… what happened, hmm?" Deidara was now very unsure what to say.

"He… he… broke… up with… me…" Itachi said through his now heavy crying, "For that… slut of a… goldfish! She's… such a… whore!"

Deidara slowly backed away from the hysteric man.

This was _not _what he signed up for when he joined Akatsuki.

--

Sakura sat in her room, bored. There really was nothing to do. All she really had at the moment was the deck of cards Tobi had left behind when he…

Wait!

Where _was _Tobi?! He'd been gone for hours… getting lunch. It was now dark outside, by what she could tell through the window.

A frantic Deidara skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Help me!"

"Um…"

"Kisame broke up with Itachi. And he won't stop crying. And he won't leave me alone."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Now that she thought about it…

She could hear a wailing man doing his best to run down the hallway.

That man soon burst into the room. "Deiiiiiidaraaaaaaaaa!" he wailed.

Said male pushed Sakura out in front of him.

This man _was _Akatsuki. He was dangerous… yet she had a feeling that the normal so-called 'Girls-night-out-forget-that-loser' would work.

"Hey Deidara… would you go get… chocolate, ice cream, cucumbers, nail polish, facial scrub, facial masks, cotton balls, nail files, some corny chick-flick, popcorn, and lotion?"

He gave her an odd look.

"Trust me." She said with a smile.

As Deidara started to leave Itachi started wailing harder and tried to follow him.

"Itachi. Wouldn't you much rather sort this out and feel better? Deidara really doesn't know how to handle this." Itachi wailed on, perhaps even more, "But I do."

She smiled. Itachi tears slowed down just the slightest bit.

"So would you like to tell me what happened so I can help?"

She listened intently as Itachi relayed everything that had happened.

"You deserve better. If he dumped you for some whore, then he doesn't deserve you at all."

Deidara walked in and flung some bags down on the ground. That meant they couldn't be too far from a town.

Sakura cussed as she realized there was no way to watch the movie. "Deidara… would you mind dragging a TV and DVD player up here..?" she said half jokingly.

"Fuck no. There's a TV downstairs, hmm. Go use that one."

"I can't. I'll like explode or something if I leave this room."

Explode probably wasn't the best word to use around Deidara. His smile grew more manic, his eyes expressed more sadism.

Itachi's crying had been reduced to sniffing, tissue-hoarding.

"J-just this once." Itachi sniffed, removing the chakra-sealing-slash-explodie-thingie bracelets.

Sakura supposed broken heart _was _a justifiable reason for many choices.

She grabbed the chick flick and started out of the room. She tensed as she passed through the doorway, half expecting to still blow up. Or something.

A hallway and a flight of stairs later, she was kneeling in front of the TV set, trying to figure out how to play a DVD.

"The Notebook"

Both Sakura and Itachi were giggling and crying with the movie, while Deidara seemed to be asleep.

Sakura grabbed the bag of beauty supplies they had dragged down with them and started applying makeup to the feminine face.

With her dirty work done, Sakura pulled back. "Got a camera?" she giggled.

Itachi shook his head no, giggling like a five year old the whole time.

Sakura stopped laughing for a moment. She was getting along with these Akatsuki _way _too well. She knew it too.

To pass the time waiting for Deidara to wake up, Sakura and Itachi painted their nails. For Itachi, the deep purple normal to the members of the Akatsuki. For Sakura, a pink that matched her hair.

Sakura blew on her last nail, attempting to aid it in drying. Deidara groaned as consciousness returned. He sleepily rubbed his eyes and stretched. And noticed the makeup that had rubbed off on his hands. He jumped up and ran to the nearest mirror.

"Sakura! Itachi, hmm!!" he growled, "What. Did. You. Do. To. My fucking. Face, hmm?!"

The guilty party giggled.

The blonde stomped towards them, clenching and unclenching his fists. He noticed a quick glimpse of fear in Sakura's eyes, while Itachi's remained a mix of laughter and impassiveness. He took a step back and mumbled to himself angrily.

A giggle escaped Sakura's lips. "Sorry, _Dei-Kun_. You just looked like a girl while you were sleeping." She forced a smile to make up for the pet name.

Deidara muttered something to himself about women taking advantage of sleeping…

* * *

**A/N:**

Yays. Okay, I know all of the characters are _seriously _out of character… but I just couldn't resist a girly-heart broken Itachi! Who could pass that up? Plus… I needed an excuse to get Sakura out of her room… to move along the twisted plot that is in my head. I'm 85 percent sure at this point that Kisame will be in the next chapter. So: REVIEW PEOPLES! I'll take your input for minor little plot twist 8D Yes, I know I use to many fragment sentences.

And I know.. The Notebook? Sooooooo over-used! But surprisingly, I'm not that into chick flicks and don't know most of them.


	8. Make Up Sex

A/N:

**A/N:**

Yeys. Chapter eight. I'm still trying to work on length everyone! And be expecting some Kisame goodness P; And Ima try not to make this one so… crack-ish. I know the last chapter was completely crack fiction… And I'm so sorry for the long update!! My free time is being lowed a lot… D: Not gurd. So, I'll probably only be able to update once a week-ish…

**Disclaimer: This is a **_**FAN**_**fiction. It should be pretty obvious that I do not own it.**

Lurve won tawn

**

* * *

**

Chapter Eight: Make-Up-Sex

Deidara was still muttering to himself when the front door was opened and slammed shut. An extremely tall, blue man with gills walked into the room. In his hands was a fish bowl. Containing a very dead fish. He walked over to the sink and sloppily dumped the bowl's contents into it. And then he turned on the garbage disposal. Nasty.

Sakura winced at the sound of the goldfish… in the garbage disposal. She noticed, however, that Itachi had turned away from the fish man, and expression of stone on his face.

"What. The. Fuck. Hmm." Deidara mumbled.

"The bitch died on me." Kisame said simply.

A quick bust of laughter erupted from Sakura. She slapped her hand up to her mouth, too late.

Kisame glared at her. "What so funny about that?" he snarled.

Sakura glanced at Deidara and Itachi, looking for some kind of help. None was offered. "You expected a goldfish to…" She trailed off.

"What would you know about it? You look like you've never been fucked." Kisame's tone was still harsh.

"Um…" Sakura felt really awkward now. "I'm a medic. So…"

"Medic, huh? Itachi, you never told me that." Kisame was now giving Sakura a big toothy grin. It was almost as intimidating as his snarling.

Itachi made a point not to answer.

"Itachi…" with one stride, Kisame closed the distance between himself and the sitting Itachi. He kneeled next to him and roughly grasped the Uchiha's face, pulling it into an aggressive kiss.

Itachi pulled back with a blush. "Kisame… not in front of the kids." He whispered, "They aren't very exposed to 'Man Love'."

It made him sound like a housewife… which really made Sakura wonder which one of them was the bottom. Despite the way Itachi acted, she just could not imagine his on the bottom with Kisame… She shook her head, attempting to rid herself of that awful image.

Deidara seemed to know what she was thinking because he let out a soft laugh.

Sakura blushed softly; almost embarrassed for him to know that she was thinking about _that_.

"Don't get any ideas." She mumbled to him.

"Too late, hmm."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Pervert."

"Not pervert, hmm. Guy."

"You've got a point there…" Sakura shifted her gaze onto Deidara, who was looking at her intently. Her gaze intensified. They stood like that for a few moments, completely forgetting about the room and the other people inside of it.

Sakura, the one to break the stare, was horrified at what she was beginning to witness.

As soon as Deidara's attention snapped to it, he clapped a hand over her eyes. Sakura didn't complain about his palm-mouths; it was a triple quadrillion times better than this… image.

Deidara picked her up with his remaining arm, and made an escape, up the stairs to her room.

"That. Was. Disgusting." Deidara gagged from the safety of the room.

Sakura simply nodded, her eyes now uncovered. She was still in the blonde's arms though.

"I guess we know the answer to your question now, hmm." Deidara snickered.

She nodded faintly. "Kisame's the top."

"Kisame's just… more aggressive."

"Musta been so in the mood, that they forgot about us and had make-up-sex on the couch." A small laugh escaped her lips.

"They get in the mood pretty fast… I think we should follow their example, hmm."

"No." she said simply.

"Please?"

"No!"

"Please?"

"Are you really _that _desperate?"

"Yes!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but to blush a little bit.

"Please?" he tried again.

"Maybe later."

"Really?"

"Maybe."

"Good enough, hmm." He sighed. In one quick motion he put the pink-haired konoichi into a dip and kissed her dominantly. The kiss was quick, but thorough.

"What was that?" she asked, a tint of pink on her cheeks betraying her enjoyment.

"That would be a kiss, my little hostage." He grinned. "Want another?"

Without waiting for her answer, he pulled her into a longer, more passionate kiss.

Her surprised gasp allowed him immediate access to the cavern of her mouth.

His tongue won dominance without a question. He ran it around her mouth, twining it with hers.

She pulled back with a gasp for air.

Deidara just gave her his cocky grin.

Sakura smiled softly at him. "You can put me down now."

"But you're at my mercy right now! If I really wanted to, I could have my way with you right now, hmm."

"Not without getting several broken bones and bruises." She laughed.

"Point taken. Besides, I wouldn't anyways."

"Is that your way of saying that you care about me?"

"If you put it that way, then yes. Hmm."

She smiled and shocked him by initiating her own kiss.

This time, he let her tongue take the lead.

And this time, he was the one who pulled back, gasping for air.

Sakura gave him her most breath-taking smile.

"Is it later yet?" Deidara asked, only half joking.

"Huh?"

"You said we could follow Itachi and Kisame's suit _later_." He grinned, "So is it later yet, hmm?"

Sakura let a soft laugh escape through her nose. "Not quite yet, but the way you're taking me…"

"That's a good thing, hmm." He said softly.

"No it's not…" she trailed off as his mouth met against her neck.

She giggled slightly because it tickled. "Deidara, stop." She said, though not in a commanding tone. It was more of a plead, something she didn't want to ask for whole-heartedly.

"Ahem." The voice coming from the doorway made both ninja look up.

"We need to go." Itachi said flatly. His Akatsuki cloak was crooked, his hair ruffled, his ninja band missing, and his shoes off. He didn't look fully recovered from that make-up-sex with Kisame.

"Go where?" Deidara asked the Uchiha.

"Relocating. The Nine-Tailed and his teammates are catching up. We need to go further."

"I thought we were going to be here the whole time… the point _was _to lure him here anyways…"

"Change of plan." Itachi shrugged.

Sakura had been frozen since the point when Naruto and her teammates were mentioned. She had nearly forgotten that she was a hostage, bait for her best friend, and being held captive.

Small tears started to well up in her eyes. She shifted her gaze up, to try and make them go away before they spilled over.

Itachi seemed to notice, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he seemed to be waiting for Deidara to notice. Which he did.

"Sakura…" he said softly, wrapping arms around her, "What's wrong?"

The petite girl shrugged his arms away and shook her head. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Itachi turned and walked down stairs; he wasn't completely emotionless. He was just an emotionless _killer_. He wasn't going to make the sweet pink-haired girl cry. In fact, he had come to think somewhat fondly of her.

Deidara grasped her hand and picked up her small pack. He then led her to his room where he grabbed his pack as well before taking her down stairs.

Itachi said nothing, while Kisame grinned.

They exited the house and ran towards the cover of the trees. Deidara still clutched her hand.

She said nothing, just ran pace with them.

"So Sakura…" he said lightly, searching desperately for something to talk about without upsetting her. That eliminated everything that had to do with her home, her friends, and her current state. "Have you been formally introduced to Kisame yet?"

Sakura shook her head in a 'no' and shrugged.

He picked up his pace, just a bit, and pulled her along with him to the front where Kisame was. He looked sort of lonely without his lover, who was at the back, covering their trail. For the most part; they had to leave _something _for their bait to find.

"Kisame. This is Sakura." Deidara started off, "Sakura, Kisame."

"Nice to meet you, medic." The shark-man flashed the girl a toothy grin.

Sakura blushed, remembering his earlier statement.

"Was I right about you never being fucked?" he continued on.

As Sakura's blush grew, her face became hotter. "Uh… wel-"

"Which means yes." Kisame cut her off.

Sakura thought her head was going to burst into flames, it was so hot.

Deidara said nothing, only watched and listened intently. A small smirk was starting to grow on his face. It wasn't a smug smirk, just his normal, near-lunacy smile.

"Guess that job's up to you, Deidara."

"Yup."

If Deidara hadn't firmly been holding her hand, Sakura probably would have tripped. She had gone slack jaw.

With her free hand, she hit Deidara. Not enough to do any serious damage, but enough to remind him _never_ to joke around with her virginity again.

"Hey…" he muttered.

Sakura shook her head at him.

Deidara spooned her and kissed her lips gently without breaking pace or tripping. He set her back down and took her hand again.

Kisame was wolf-whistling.

Sakura was blushing. Big time.

"Is it later yet, hmm?" Deidara grinned.

"Nope."

"When's it going to be?"

"Soon."

Sakura smiled softly as Deidara tightened his grip on her hand.

She had almost taken her mind off of her teammates again.

Almost.

"Wait. Where's Tobi?" she asked with a laugh.

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A/N:

Yeys. Well, I guess that means there's probably going to be smut in teh next chapter. Eh, I'll have to decide whether or not I want to type it out. Lemme know peoples! Once again, thanks for reading and reviewing! (and did you notice that I'm cutting back on Deidara's 'hmms'? They were REALLY starting to annoy me… xD)

O.o Kisame and Itachi… had… make up sex?! Tsk tsk. I write a perfectly straight fanfiction, and I _still _end up putting in some yaoi.

won tawn


	9. We Were Just Talking about How You’re

A/N:

**A/N:**

Well… SMUT IT IS! WARNING: this chapter contains smut. If you don't like it, don't read it!! BWAHAHA! Smuttttttttt. Thanks everyone who's reading and reviewing :D

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned Deidara, you could expect him to be wearing a lot less clothes.**

Love won tawn

**

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Chapter Nine: We Were Just Talking about How You're Abstinent

"Wait. Where's Tobi?"

"Crap." Deidara muttered. He reluctantly let go of her hand and slowed down his pace so Itachi would catch up.

"Finally noticed?" the Uchiha smirked.

Deidara rolled his eyes. "I'm guessing you know where he is…"

"Yes. I had him scout, which is why I know we had to relocate. Obviously. And then I sent him ahead to make sure the new 'base' of sorts is safe."

"Is that a job Tobi is capable of, hmm?" the blonde was unsure.

"Who knows."

Deidara snorted. With a few leaps at a quickened pace, he was back at Sakura's side. He was slightly surprised to see that she was having a conversation with Kisame.

"I never would have thought that." Sakura was giggling.

"Thought about what?" Deidara said, butting into their discussion.

"Nothing…" the pink-haired girl was obviously lying.

"We were just talking about how you're abstinent." the fish man said bluntly. Sakura blushed.

"It's not like I…" he began to blush, "I just… I don't… whatever." He finished lamely.

Sakura giggled. "I think it's sweet. But that means you were lying when you…" she trailed off. Deidara would know what she was saying, but Kisame could only guess.

"No I wasn't, hmm." He flashed her his sexiest grin, "Is it later yet?"

"Now wouldn't exactly be the best time…" she rolled her eyes.

"Almost there." Kisame grinned, interrupting.

He moved steadily downwards from the cover of the trees.

Sakura took a misstep and stumbled, but managed to regain her balance and maintain the pace.

Deidara gave her a weary look; the look a mother gave her kids when they told her they wanted to go hang-gliding over the Grand Canyon.

She shrugged.

Not a good motion when running in trees. Her foot entirely missed the next branch, which would have sent her towards the ground if Deidara hadn't grasped her waist immediately.

Sakura gave him a sheepish smile.

He rolled his eyes. "I think it's almost later…"

"We'll see."

Ten minutes, a thorough search of the immediate territory, and a stair case later had Sakura sitting on her 'bed'. At least in this house she _had _a bed.

Deidara was sitting next to her, his arm was wrapped around her waist, his hand dangerously close to the normally 'off limits area'.

"So what can that palm-mouth do besides mold clay?" she asked seductively.

"Kinky things." The blonde smirked.

"Really?" Sakura grinned. "I think it might be later now."

With that statement, Deidara closed the distance between their faces. His lips covered hers aggressively.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his slender body and twisted her hands into his hair.

Deidara gently tipped her over onto her back without breaking the kiss. He was now straddling her to maintain lip contact.

A light moan escaped Sakura's lips and traveled into the cavern of Deidara's mouth.

He couldn't take it anymore.

Perhaps, it was Sakura, or her moaning, or even the slightly disturbing sound of Itachi and Kisame having sex in the next room.

"Harder, Kisame! Harder!"

One of his hands slipped under Sakura's shirt. His fingers ghosted over her silky, pale skin. He reached around her back, which she willingly arched up to give him access, and fumbled with her bra strap. With that, he flung the pinky lacey lingerie across the room. '_Nice choice…_' he caught himself thinking. His palm-mouth now could reach Sakura's unprotected breasts.

He'd never actually _tried _anything horny with his palm-mouth, but he'd always _assumed _that it would work for perfectly kinky things. It opened and teased her, licking with an almost tender touch.

Deidara broke the kiss and Sakura moaned.

He gently pulled her shirt over her head to fully expose her upper body.

The blonde gazed approvingly of Sakura's anatomy while she fumbled with her skirt.

A few moments later it was flung across the room, landing on top of a small standing lamp.

"Your… turn..." She moaned between kisses. The kunoichi obviously thought it was unfair that Deidara was still clothed while she was in her panties.

She tugged at the hem of the Akatsuki's shirt. He responded by tugging at her panties.

"Take it off." She mumbled against his neck.

"You first."

Sakura pushed him over and straddled him. "Now."

When he didn't take it off, she ripped it straight off of him. Her eyes instantly caught the odd, tribal-looking tattoo over his left peck.

Deidara took advantage of her pause and quickly pushed her back down so he was in the dominant role again. He fumbled with his pants zipper and boxers while Sakura pulled off her lacy thong.

They took a moment to admire each other.

"Are you sure, hmm?" Deidara asked her softly. By saying that he was basically warning her that she would never get her virginity back and that she would probably hold an emotional tie with him, which could be risky when and if she returned to her village.

She nodded faintly. "Are you?"

He nodded back.

He ginger slid one finger into her. Sakura moaned.

He slid in a second. She moaned harder.

A third. She was moaning even harder still. It was an unfamiliar thing inside of her; she wasn't used to having so much.

Slowly, he pushed the three fingers in farther, then slid it back. He kept a slow rhythm, allowing her to get comfortable with something inside of her.

Deidara pulled his fingers out of her and licked them. "Mmm." He whispered to her.

He positioned his member in front of her, waiting for her approval.

The pink-haired girl clutched the sheets and squeezed her eyes shut, not knowing what to expect. She nodded weakly, and with that, Deidara slowly pushed into her.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut further and clutched the sheets harder as she groaned.

Deidara held a steady, slow rhythm as he had with his fingers. He increased his pace, making Sakura into a moaning, screaming blob.

The dam of feeling and emotion burst, sending her into her first orgasm.

Deidara quickened his pace again, her muscles tightening around him and soon came himself.

He collapsed oh her, a sweating, panting mess.

Deidara scrabbled around, pulling the sheet our from under them so they could be covered.

He wrapped his arms around Sakura and held her tight to him.

His emotions were muddled and he couldn't think straight.

The confusion caused him to speak the truth.

"I love you." He mumbled before falling asleep.

Sakura opened her eyes at those words. She almost thought she had imagined those words, but deep down, she knew he was telling the truth.

She cuddled into him; her head was against his chest and her legs were twined with his.

When Sakura awoke, Deidara was still there.

"It's about time you woke up, hmm." He mumbled against the top of her head.

"How long have you been waiting for me to?" she asked sleepily.

Deidara made a motion that Sakura assumed was a shrug.

"How do you feel?" he asked her softly.

"I've been better."

A knock on the door sounded.

Sakura pulled the sheet up to better cover herself; Deidara sat up defensively in front of her since he was closer to the door.

The door swung open a crack and Itachi stuck his head in.

"Breakfast downstairs." He said blankly before turning away.

Deidara stood and gathered the clothes that were strewn across the room. He handed Sakura hers before pulling on his pants.

"Let's go." She said softly as she pulled on her shirt.

Deidara led her downstairs by her hand. Itachi and Kisame were already sitting down at an old rickety looking table that was covered with pancakes, eggs, toast, and coffee.

Kisame's plate was stacked high with eight pancakes, four pieces of toast, along with a mountain of eggs.

"You guys sure had fun last night." He said, addressing the newcomers.

Sakura blushed; obviously they had heard her.

"So did you, hmm." Deidara countered.

"Sure did." Kisame grinned, "I'm already up for round two."

Itachi merely shook his head at his partner.

Sakura sat down sorely, only to be lifted up by Deidara who took her seat and pulled her onto his lap. He wasn't shy around the other Akatsuki members at all.

"So… where' Tobi?" Sakura asked, curious where the masked man was.

"Scouting. He should be back soon." Itachi answered. He seemed to be sitting slightly uncomfortably too.

As if he had been summoned by his name, Tobi walked in through the front door, shutting it softly behind him.

"Hey, Tobi." Sakura smiled.

"Hi Sakura-Chan." Tobi seemed to be smiling though Sakura couldn't be sure with his mask, "Hi Deidara-Sempai. Did you miss Tobi?"

"No." the blonde said flatly.

"Sempai, why is Sakura-Chan sitting in your lap?"

Deidara ignored the question.

"What is the status of the Kyuubi's location?" Itachi asked Tobi.

"Tobi saw them at the last base. They were looking around." Tobi shuffled his feet, feeling awkward talking about Sakura's teammates in front of her.

Sakura dropped her eyes. She had forgotten about them. Last night… she had been so distracted. Now she felt guilty.

She got up from Deidara's lap. "I'm not hungry."

"You should go talk to her." Kisame said when she had disappeared up the stairs. "I'd hate to see such a sweet, delicate thing hurt when it isn't necessary."

Deidara nodded. He promptly stood up and headed after her.

--

Sakura buried her face in the blankets of the bed. They smelled like sex.

The tears were beginning to leak out from her eyes. She had completely forgotten about her teammates, her best friends, because of a guy. A man. A man who was her enemy and captor.

She felt Deidara's chakra signature enter the room. She frantically willed he tears to stop and her back to quit quivering.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her softly as he placed a hand on her back. He knew what was wrong, but he really didn't know what to say to make her feel better.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Sakura managed to keep her voice even and steady, although her back was still heaving.

"Sakura…" Deidara said in an almost parent-like tone.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes furiously. "I'm fine!" she shouted at him.

Deidara crammed his lips onto hers. In her kiss, he could feel her anger and sadness. It revealed all of her emotions.

He pulled back reluctantly. "Now do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"You made me _forget _about my teammates and you're using me so that you can kill my best friend." Sakura cried. She was failing miserable at containing her anger.

"Sakura…" Deidara lifted his hand, intending to rest it on her cheek.

She slapped it away.

"Don't." she whispered. "Just don't."

He lifted it again in a second attempt.

Sakura slapped it away again, this time with more force.

"Sakura, I want you to be happy."

"Then don't kill Naruto!" she cried.

"Then it will be Tobi and me who dies, hmm."

"I don't want that either."

"What_ do_ you want?"

"I don't know." Sakura whispered.

With that, the kunoichi passed out, to be caught by Deidara who would hold her until she woke up again.

--

Naruto kicked a tree stump in anger. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. He hoped up and down on one foot while clutching the other and releasing a string of profanities.

Sai was sitting on the ground. His hands were pressing on his temples; he was obviously frustrated and upset too.

Kakashi stood up in the tree, watching the sun set. A grave look was set upon his face.

"We'll fin her Sensei. Don't worry. We're going to bring Sakura back." The blonde boy wasn't grinning. For once.

Kakashi leaped down from the tree. "They aren't far. We didn't miss them by much either… maybe an hour or two. The question is: should we keep going now and make up as much ground as we can while they're most likely sleeping, or should we wait until morning, have more energy but chance losing the trail or losing ground?"

"I say we keep going now." The artist spoke up. "We need to save Sakura. Now."

**

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A/N:

Yeys for the crappy smut scenes! Lol. And meh is on top of the story today! Heh.


	10. Got Any Seventeens ?

A/N:

**A/N:**

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long update… I've been really busy. I'll try to be quicker from now on :D Oh, and I think I'll look into getting a beta. If anyone is interested let me know! Lol. Me and my lazy butt. Oh. And there's gonna be a spoiler from some of the manga chapters, concerning why Itachi killed his clan and whatnot. :O I'll warn you if you don't want to know…

**Seriously. Do I **_**really **_**need a disclaimer at this point?! I think you get it already…**

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Chapter Ten: Got Any Seventeens?

Sakura groaned and opened her eyes. She blinked a few times, despite the lack of light.

Her bed seemed unnaturally warm, and she could swear it was moving.

Her eyes slowly adjusted.

_Crap! _

She was half sprawled over Deidara, whose arms were wrapped around her.

He was propped halfway up against the wall on the bed; he had slid into a position that looked pretty uncomfortable.

Sakura made an attempt to scramble out of his lap. And his arms.

No good; he was hugging her too tightly.

Defeated, Sakura settled back into his grip.

One blue eye opened to meet green, startling Sakura who had, unknowingly, been staring at the blonde's face.

The male pressed his lips to hers in a brief kiss.

Sakura reluctantly pulled out of his grip to sit next to him. She hugged her knees to her chest, wondering just why and how she had gotten into Deidara's arms.

Naruto.

That was the reason, wasn't it?

_Yes. That _was_ the reason._

She felt the single tear that rolled down her cheek.

A single tear. A sign of weakness. Sakura was beginning to feel survival, escape mode kick in.

She couldn't lie to herself; she was in love with, or at least lusting after, Deidara. Her team, her best friend, was more important than this man that she had just met a few days ago. That was something she had to admit.

"Sakura." Deidara wrapped his arm around her as he noticed the tear that was currently working its way down her face.

"Please don't, Deidara." She pleaded in a barely audible whisper.

Hesitantly, he shifted his arm away from her. With that, the blonde stood up and, with a few strides, left the room.

Now Sakura felt even worse. She had hurt Deidara. Damnit, why did life have to be so complicated? It was like playing a game that you could never win unless you'd read the rule book that didn't exist. Here she had been, content with life, feeling like she _had _succeeded, like she'd been through every type of low she possibly could. Then she just _had _to have been kidnapped. Sure, that created an issue, but it wasn't the one that was sending her life spinning into turmoil; that was Deidara's doing.

A love she wanted, but could never have.

--

The silver-haired man raced through the trees at top speed, followed by his two companions.

The blonde one had a determined look on his face, while the dark-haired one's seemed only slightly concerned.

"Kakashi." Sai spoke, "I know we're all anxious, almost desperate, to get Sakura back, but I think a quick break is needed."

He was right.

The squad had been running in circles for hours. That damn trail always seemed to lead them back here, one way or another.

Kakashi sighed. He nodded his head once in approval before hopping towards the ground.

Naruto glared at the artist with a look that said "why the hell did you do that?"

The older man caught this look. "He's right, Naruto. I think the best approach at this point is to slow down our pace so we can find the right trail."

Naruto mumbled something that resembled approval.

Sai chuckled. Despite the situation, it was always funny to see Naruto grumble like a child who had been refused a trip to the candy store.

"What are you laughing at, asshole?"

"Who else but you, dickless?" Sai countered with his fake smile.

"I think it's about time we keep moving." Naruto mumbled.

"I think you're right." Kakashi said softly.

--

A soft knock on Sakura's door made her jump. She sincerely hoped her eyes weren't puffy, no matter who it was.

After a moments pause, when there was no answer, the knocker swung the door open.

Itachi sat down on the little twin bed next to the kunoichi. He rested a hand on her head, which she guessed to be some sort of attempt to comfort her.

Sakura gave him a weak smile.

Well this was awkward.

"It'll be over soon. You can go home and forget everything." He spoke almost hesitantly. She figured he didn't know how to comfort anyone.

Here, she had loathed him for ruining Sasuke's life, but it turned out that he actually wasn't that bad.

Which reminded her.

"Why?"

She asked him simply.

"Why? Why can you go home? Becau-"

"No, not that. Why did you kill your clan? Why did you leave Sasuke alive?"

Itachi flinched slightly. "Is it going to help you get over this?" she nodded. "And you aren't going to go around telling people?" the kunoichi nodded again.

**

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**

(ZOMG! SPOILERS!)

"I killed my clan because I was under orders and-"

"Who's orders?"

Itachi sighed with her interruption. "The Third Hokage's. Now please don't interrupt." He continued.

The Uchiha was so blunt with mentioning that it was the Third who gave him those orders, Sakura, however, had her mouth hanging open in utter and complete shock.

Whether or not he noticed her state, Itachi continued, "And because I thought it was corrupt. And I didn't kill Sasuke because he was, is, my little brother and I care about him. And I guess I don't want the guilt of killing the whole clan."

**(End spoilers)**

* * *

Sakura was left speechless.

Finally, "Wow."

"Never. Fucking. Tell. Anyone." The Uchiha said firmly.

Sakura nodded. She knew how badly she would want to tell Sasuke. In a way, part of her still hoped he would return and everything would go back to normal.

"Now I think you should go talk to a certain psycho ninja downstairs." Itachi prodded.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Aren't we all psycho these days?"

Itachi let out a soft laugh.

With that, the pink-haired girl hopped up and out of the room.

Even upstairs, Sakura could see Deidara moping on the couch. She sighed.

"Deidara." She called out to him as she descended the stairs.

"Hm."

Sakura sighed. Now he wasn't going to talk to her?

She was beginning to regret her actions, her thoughts, her anything that pushed him away from her.

"Deidara." She said softly again, settling herself next to him.

The blonde grunted.

Sakura closed her eyes with slight frustration. She rested her head on his shoulder, it being low enough to do so because he was slouching.

He grunted once again.

"What do I need to do to get you to talk to me?" she sighed.

Deidara shrugged.

"Whatever. I tried." She stood to leave.

Deidara grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into his lap.

Sakura smiled. "That's it?"

"Yup."

"You're weird."

"I know, hmm."

Sakura snorted.

"So where's Tobi?"

"Who knows, hmm."

Sakura shifted in the blonde's lap until she was facing him. Technically, that just meant she was straddling him.

The kunoichi wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a light blush grace his cheeks.

She wrapped her arms around his neck to help balance herself.

Almost hesitantly, Deidara let his hands clasp at her lower back.

Sakura smiled softly at him. She leaned forward, seeming like she was going in for a kiss to, anticlimactically, rest her forehead against his.

"What's with you always asking about where Tobi is anyways?" Deidara mumbled.

"Well he doesn't seem like someone who would hide in his room all day."

"Someone is talking about Tobi?" the masked man's voice called from the kitchen.

It was creepy how he always popped up when he was being talked about.

"Sorta." The kunoichi called to him. "You know, I think we should play cards again." Sakura grinned, knowing Deidara couldn't get out of it however much he tried.

"Yes!" Tobi cried gleefully. "Tobi likes his cards. And Tobi thinks we should play Go Fish."

Deidara rolled his eyes.

Sakura rolled off of his lap to sit next to him, pulling the coffee table closer.

Tobi took his seat, leaving Sakura in the middle. Apparently he knew he'd be safer from his Senpai's rage there.

The three sat in a semi-silence, only speaking when it was their turn in the game. Deidara was obviously trying to let Tobi win, considering how he always asked him if he had any "seventeens".

Sakura, however, wasn't; Deidara wasn't getting out that easy.

He knew it too. He kept sending her semi-angry glares which she returned with a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Stop already!" Deidara shouted through the fourty-second game, "You win already Tobi, alright?!"

The blonde threw down his cards and went to stand, only the have the kunoichi grab his hand gently.

With an angry sigh he sat down.

Man, he was whipped.

And for some odd reason, that made him think of the members of Devo holding cans of whipped cream. Just another point that proved he was crazy. (For those of you who don't know, Devo is the band that sang Whip It. And yes, I know the Naruto characters most likely have never heard of them.)

Ten more minutes passed by awkwardly, no small talk going on.

"Well, as much as Tobi would like to keep playing, he has to report to Itachi-Senpai."

"He's a 'Senpai' too now..?" the blonde muttered to himself. Tobi didn't seem to notice, but Sakura sent him a glare.

Deidara shrugged.

That said, Tobi skipped up stairs in search of the Uchiha.

Sighing, the kunoichi rest her head on Deidara's shoulder.

"Tired?" he asked her as he settled his hand on her shoulder.

"Mmm hmm." Sakura mumbled, "I didn't that much sleep last night." She winked.

Deidara blushed softly. "Right."

****

A/N:

Sorry for the shortness! I just really wanted to get this chapter out because of the long delay… Uhg. This chapter was major writer's block for me! Anyways. Yup. See you next chappie! (sorreh again for the long wait!) Oh, and if you could just ignore any misspelled words... my Microsoft Word if acting up...


	11. Seven O' Two

**A/N:**

Helloooooo. Well, our wittle fan fiction is going to be looping to an end soon… sad, no? Lime in this chappie, by the way. I'm too lazy to write another poopie lemon… So anyways… vote in my poll on my profile for my next fan fiction. They're all Naruto pairings, but I'll do a different manga or anime if I know it well enough… just ask me! (by the way, I'm gonna attempt to keep the characters _in character _in my next fic. AMAZING!)

**Disclaimer. Yeah, um… Naruto isn't mine. I have a cute little stuffed Deidara though. :D**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Seven O' Two**

Tobi knocked softly on the door to Itachi (and Kisame's) room.

A moment later, a soft 'yes' answered him.

"Tobi has a report for Itachi-San." Although the masked man had called him Senpai before, he wouldn't do that straight to the Uchiha's face. Weird.

Tobi heard some foot steps and a moment later, the door swung open.

Itachi strode back to sit on the bed as soon as that was done. Awkwardly, Kisame was sitting next to him, on a _very _unmade bed, and neither of them were wearing their robes.

And was that _slobber_ on the Uchiha's face?

Oh, dear god.

"Well?" Itachi started, "What's the report? What is the position on the Kyuubi?"

"The Kyuubi and the remainder of his team will most likely be here in approximately two days." Tobi said shyly, "He is accompanied by Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Nin and a ninja identified to be from the Root operation of ANBU. We don't know his name. Oh, and they don't seem to have sent for reinforcements or assistance of any kind."

Surprising that such a serious report could come from Tobi.

"Understood." Itachi put simply. "You can go now."

"Yes, Itachi-San." Tobi turned to leave. "Oh, Senpai," and there he goes with the Senpai… "What about Sakura-Chan?"

"She is bait, nothing more." The Uchiha said this monotonously, but was that a glint of sadness Tobi saw in his eyes?

Without questioning him any further, Tobi left, closing the door behind him.

The masked man was tempted to go downstairs, but he thought he should give Sakura and Deidara some alone time. Sure, he may _act _like an idiot, and sure he probably _was _a little idiotic, but he wasn't completely _stupid_.

In fact, he had predicted this would happen, seeing how his Senpai acted around her at first. He would just let everyone believe that he hadn't a clue.

Actually, it was probably a good thing he didn't go down stairs. He most likely would have received a lot of verbal abuse and threatening if he had seen what the blondie and the kunoichi were doing.

Sakura was straddling Deidara's lap, facing him. Her hands were wrapped around his neck, or twined in his hair, or something. Their faces attached by the lips; locked in a passionate kiss. One of his hands was supporting her lower back while the other was starting to work its way up her shirt.

Oh yeah, _that _would have been awkward.

And let's pray for the sofa's sake that nothing else happens on it.

Tobi, having nowhere to go and no one to talk to wandered down the hall. He passed Sakura's room. Did _he_ have a room? Yeah.

Tobi entered his room and sat on the bed. He began to swing his feet out of boredom. And then he began to twiddle his thumbs to keep them occupied.

He sighed. Sakura would be gone soon.

And then she'd hate him.

And they would have to fight if they ever encountered each other again.

But most of all, she would hate him. And that was because they would be taking her best friend. Tobi tried to shake the thought away and focus on something positive.

Cake.

Now _that _was positive.

"That's what Tobi will do!" he thought out loud, "He'll make a cake for Sakura-Chan. Nobody can stay mad if they have a cake!"

He grinned to himself as if he had just found the cure for the common cold.

* * *

Kakashi was setting the pace for his team.

Which, by the way, was breakneck.

He knew they were getting close, and was making a desperate attempt to get to the little kunoichi sooner.

Logically, he knew they were still a day or two away, but he just couldn't set a slower pace.

Naruto would have pushed harder anyways, even if he _did _slow down; the blonde boy was even more anxious to get to her.

Sai, on the outside seemed almost indifferent, but the Copy Nin knew he was having an inner turmoil, feeling worry; an emotion he wasn't used to dealing with.

He sighed, noticing the slight reddening of the sky, signaling that darkness was coming soon.

'_Just a bit further…_' he thought to himself. Kakashi knew that they should probably stop and make camp; prepare for tomorrow, but it couldn't hurt to push a few more minutes, could it?

* * *

Sakura pulled back from a heated kiss with Deidara. She knew that they should stop before they got carried away. Especially on the couch. In the living room. Where Itachi or Kisame or even innocent little Tobi could very well see them.

"Dei-" she panted, being cut off when he brought his lips back to hers.

The kunoichi knew he was beginning to get aroused. Not good.

"Deidara!" she gasped, pulling back again.

"Hmm." He mumbled simply against her skin.

"We need to stop."

The blonde groaned. "Whyyyyy?" He whined, resembling a young boy who didn't get what he wanted.

Which may have been pretty accurate.

"At least… not here." she blushed slightly. Yeah, she knew she was giving into him… but he was just so… cute, and sexy, and just plain _good_ in a way she'd rather not describe.

And yes, that was in bed.

"Mmm hmm." He mumbled. With that, he scooped her up in his arms bridal style and carried her up the stairs, into her room, onto her bed, releasing her to shut the door.

Sakura found herself thanking some omnipotent being that it was at least starting to get dark. Sex in the middle of the day would just feel… weird.

An hour and several releases and many moans and groans later, Sakura found Deidara collapsed onto of her.

Both were breathing heavily.

Deidara pulled himself out of her carefully and rolled to the side to lie next to her.

Sakura wrapped her arms around him and cuddled into his chest. He responded by pulling her in closer.

"What time is it?" she mumbled sleepily.

"Seven O' two."

Her stomach growled.

"I'll go get some food…" the blonde volunteered, getting up.

"'Kay."

Deidara quickly located his pants, which had been thrown across the room, and pulled them on.

He half-waddled down the stairs into the kitchen.

Itachi looked up from a newspaper he seemed to be reading. Wait, they had a newspaper?! Back to the point…

"You two have been busy." He said with a very slight laugh.

Deidara just grunted. He ignored the Uchiha and began rummaging through the cabinets for something to eat that he could easily bring up to the room.

Itachi pushed a take-out box forward on the table. His eyes never left whatever he was reading.

"Left-overs."

Deidara picked the box up off the table. Sticky rice. Noodles. Some sort of sushi. They were all crammed in the over sized box.

Satisfied, he grabbed the only remaining clean pair of chopsticks off the table and returned to Sakura's room.

While he was gone, she had thrown on _his _shirt and cleaned up the clothes that had been strewn about.

The blonde rolled his eyes softly.

"What's that?" she asked, eyeing the take-out box.

"Leftovers, hmm."

"And one pair of chopsticks."

He gave her a cocky grin.

He eased some sushi out of the box and held it out to her.

Smiling, she chomped down on the food he was holding out to her.

By this point, they were both sitting on the bed. Sakura, half on his lap.

"So you're going to feed me?" She asked innocently, although they both knew it wasn't.

The blonde just smiled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tobi still sat in his room, planning out his cake.

Sad.

He had decided: it was going to be vanilla. It was going to have yellow frosting. It was going to have little sakura blossoms with green leaves. It was going to be delicious. He was _definitely _going to need some help.

* * *

Kakashi slowed to a stop.

It was dark. They had only been able to continue because of the moonlight.

With a bound, he leaped to the forest ground.

Sai followed. Naruto followed more hesitantly.

Once on the ground, the blonde gave his sensei a pleading look.

The Copy Nin sighed and shook his head; they'd already been pushing it.

The three rolled out their sleeping bags. They might as well.

Kakashi handed out the rations. No fire. It would alert the Akatsuki to how close they were. And then they might relocate. _Again_.

They sat, quietly discussing their plan; how they were going to scope it out, which formation they would use in each situation they could come up with.

* * *

Sakura cuddled into the arms of Deidara. They were just sitting, talking at the moment.

"I'm cold." The kunoichi complained.

Deidara let out a soft laugh and pulled her closer into him. She shivered.

"Do you want to go downstairs?" he asked her softly.

"Won't it be colder down there?"

"Naw, there's a fire place."

"You're kidding me." Sakura groaned, "What are you waiting for then? Let's go!"

The girl jumped up and grabbed Deidara's hand, pulling him towards the door, stairs, and warmth.

They reached the downstairs to see a fire already lit.

And Itachi cuddling into Kisame's arms.

Awkward much?

Deidara didn't hesitate to sit next to the hearth and pull Sakura into his lap.

Kisame and Itachi both seemed to smile softly at the young couple.

Sakura almost felt awkward in front of the two other men.

I mean, she knew for a fact that they knew about her and Deidara… but she just had that feeling. That PDA ((public display of affection)) feeling.

Obviously Deidara didn't share those feelings because he leaned in until his lips met hers, his tongue poking at her lips for entrance.

She gave in, parting her lips just slightly and let his tongue lead hers.

**

* * *

**

A/N:

This chapter feels so short to me… anyways, sorry for the long update… I've been preoccupied with school, with STAR testing and getting ready for finals. ZOMG… only like three weeks left! During summer, you can expect a mix of quickness and slowness as far as updating goes, unless I finish before then. My family is planning on going on vacation a lot, I'm in a ton of volleyball things (so I don't get rusty), and I'm being a Counselor in Training for little kids camp. Yay for community service hours. I'll have like twice the amount I need to graduate…


	12. Real Men Cry

**A/N:**

Hola. Probably one or two more chapters left.. D: It really depends on the length… oh, and I might write an epilogue too :D ZOMG. Sorreh for the long update... I'll be much quicker after Thursday, when I get out of school. Except when I go on vacation.. D:

**I don't own Naruto. However, I kidnapped Deidara. He's currently tied to a chair, half nakie. :D**

**

* * *

**

Chapter Twelve: Real Men Cry

Sakura pulled back, gasping for air.

She could swear that she heard Kisame let out a soft laugh.

"Itachi-San?" Tobi asked, peeking his head out from the kitchen.

The Uchiha left his lover's arms almost reluctantly.

In the mild privacy of the kitchen, Tobi spoke.

"The team retrieving Sakura will be here tomorrow, probably. Oh, and Tobi needs help baking a cake."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the masked man.

"For Sakura." He elaborated.

Itachi sighed but nodded nonetheless.

He strode out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

"Deidara, Sakura. May I have a word with you?" his tone was emotionless, as it normally was, with the exception of much of this little mission.

Deidara helped Sakura up and followed the Uchiha.

"So what do you want, hmm?"

"I'm going to be straight forward with this. Sakura; your team will probably be here tomorrow. When they _do _get here, it is necessary to fight. The point of this fight is to capture the Kyuubi."

Sakura flinched.

"I want to make this as easy as possible. I think you and Deidara should say your goodbyes now." Itachi sighed. He knew the tears and/or screams were coming now.

A tear slid out from Sakura's eye. She wiped it away furiously and mumbled something about how dusty this house was.

"Fuck no, we're not!" Deidara yelled, possibly on the top of his lungs. He stopped himself with a calming breath. "I need to blow something up." He mumbled and walked away.

Sakura quickly caught up to him before Itachi could stop her. By this point, the tears were leaking faster. The blonde wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him as they walked.

He shoved his free hand into his side pouch of clay, beginning the process of making an aircraft.

His hand-mouth had finished by the time they reached the front 'yard' of sorts.

It spit it out and began to mold a bird, which Deidara would expand.

Sakura watched, partly in fascination.

Deidara gave her a not-so-cocky grin.

The expanded bird sat waiting; he helped his kunoichi up before climbing on himself.

He stuck his hand back in his clay pouch to mold an explosive. Sakura cuddled into him and watched.

Deidara finished the first and set it off just as it was about to hit the ground.

"That was pretty." Sakura had to admit it; in some sadistic way, it actually _was _very beautiful.

The blonde smiled, not his usual smirk, just a soft upward curve of his lips.

"Fleeting." He said softly as he wrapped his arms around her softly.

The kunoichi let her head fall back to rest on Deidara. "Yeah."

--

The tree remaining members of Team Kakashi approached the small, almost shack-like, house. It wasn't small, but it _was_ incredibly shabby. If someone who couldn't sense chakra would happen to see it, it would seem uninhabited.

The Akatsuki didn't seem to masking their chakra. That meant that they were either overly-confident, or they weren't trying to hide. Or maybe a mix of both.

At the moment, however, Sakura's chakra wasn't present.

Naruto had obviously caught on to that.

The blonde was grinding his teeth together, a faint orange chakra was starting to surround him, while his teeth and nails seemed more animalistic, and the whiskers on his cheeks were growing more obvious.

Kakashi put a hand on the younger man's shoulder; that extreme chakra would give them away.

The blonde sighed, and began to calm down, though it was obvious that he was still pissed.

"They won't kill her Naruto." Sai said in an attempt to calm the boy down more, "She's bait."

Naruto snorted at said man. He really was clueless sometimes.

"We'll wait to make our move until we can be sure where Sakura is. Said, scout out the surrounding area. Naruto, watch for any movement and see if you can identify any of the enemy. I'll be back in a bit, report to me then." With that said, the silver-haired man poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

Sai nodded and set off in one direction to examine the terrain.

Naruto sat on the nearest tree branch, sulking. How like Kakashi to give him the stupid job. There was no doubt that his former sensei was either reading porn or attempting to see if Sakura was not in this building at the moment.

He sighed and watched for any sign of movement, trying to see if he could catch an identity.

--

Kakashi stood gaping at what he saw.

No, not porn.

Sakura.

With… Akatsuki member Deidara. Cuddling. Hugging. Kissing.

Now the question was whether she was in love, or playing him to make it easier to escape.

--

Sakura was so caught up in a kiss with Deidara that she didn't notice the flare of chakra that belonged to her sensei. It didn't pass Deidara.

He stiffened, causing Sakura to pull back and give him a funny look.

"Sakura, what will it take to keep you with me, hmm?" he asked her almost desperately. He obviously remembered the chakra of the man who blew one of his arms off with that damned sharingan.

She sat staring at him speechless.

"Dei-"

He cut her off with a kiss, furiously passionate. All of his anger and sadness that she was soon to be gone showed. He would be alone. Again. He didn't think he could handle it.

"Please…" he whispered, holding her face between his hands, gazing deeply into those lovely green eyes.

They stared back at his blue ones. The green ones were watering. "I-I'm sorry Deidara." For at least the second time that day, she furiously wiped a tear away from her face.

He turned silently on his clay bird, so that he was facing forward. He was silent.

"Please, understand…" she said softly as she wrapped her arms around him, preparing for the bird to take flight.

"Hmm." He grunted.

This time she didn't bother to wipe away her tears, as the wind blew them away for her.

The whole way back, he was silent. When they landed, he hoped off and strode for the door without waiting for her.

Sakura hoped off quickly and caught up to him in a few bounds. "Deidara…" she called softly to him. He ignored it.

He just kept walking until he reached the door, pushing it opening, nearly startling the still cuddling pair of Itachi and Kisame, and he did manage to scare Tobi.

"The Copy Nin is here, hmm." The blonde muttered to Itachi. Deidara kept on walking, up the stairs, and down the hall.

Sakura sank to the floor. She wished she had never been kidnapped in the first place. Yeah, she'd had heartbreak before, but never had she felt this way. She had a strong craving for fattening foods.

And that's what she went for as soon as she gathered enough composure to stand. The kunoichi rummaged in the cabinets and scavenged the fridge. Satisfied finding some dango and frosting (yes, Tobi's frosting) she sat at the table and scarfed it down.

She was so concentrated on the food that she did not notice the two men who had previously been sitting on the couch stand up. Kisame headed up the stairs to Deidara, since everyone knows well enough that the blonde hates a certain Uchiha.

That Uchiha had been working his way towards Sakura, avoiding a distraught Tobi (because of his lost frosting). He softly placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Want to talk about it?" his voice held a hint of sympathy.

She shook her head no.

He silently took a seat next to her, waiting for her to open up.

"Why did you have to tell Deidara and me that we should stop being around each other?" she sniffed, "It only ended up making him hate me."

The kunoichi's self control broke, and tears tolled down her face.

"That was not my intention." Itachi said softly.

--

Up the stairs, Kisame was having more luck than his partner downstairs, as far as figuring out what happened.

"She doesn't want to be with me, she wants to leave. The first person, other than myself, that I have ever cared about."

The blonde seemed like he was talking to himself, rather than to someone.

"Think about it, Deidara. Would you leave countless people you have known your whole life, that have _always _been there for you, always cared, for one person that you've only known for a short time?" Kisame really didn't know if his words were even slightly comforting or persuasive, but he had no idea as to what to say.

"Yes." The blonde said simply. His head was hanging, his bangs covering his face. And the heart-broken tears that Kisame suspected were there.

"…" Kisame had not expected that… "Okay, think of it this way… would you leave countless people that you care about as much as Sakura, just not in a romantic way?"

"Yes."

Kisame shook his head softly at the younger boy. He was completely head-over-heels. It was that simple.

He picked up a flare of chakra. It wasn't Deidara. Nor Itachi. Or even Tobi or Sakura.

He perked up. He let out his own flash of chakra to warn his partner, as well as encourage him to come upstairs.

Itachi, of course, caught both flares from the enemy and his partner.

He nudged Sakura to get up. When she didn't, he picked her up and flung her over his shoulder.

She didn't object. She didn't hit him. She didn't scream. She didn't flinch. She didn't gasp.

He sighed, and dragged himself up the stairs. Deidara was still sitting on the bed. Kisame was standing.

Itachi deposited Sakura on Deidara's lap, despite the major issues that would probably arise from it.

Neither the blonde nor the kunoichi moved. After a few moments of awkward silence, she shifted only her eyes to look at him. He caught it.

He was now quivering, resisting the urge to kiss her. To have her right there.

Still Sakura didn't move.

"Anyways," Kisame said, breaking the silence, "They're here."

Itachi and Kisame quickly gave instructions as to how this was going to happen.

Itachi was to 'restrain' Sakura. Kisame would do the negotiating. Deidara would stay there and look intimidating.

Tobi would stand further back, almost out of sight. He had gone frantic, saying his cake wasn't finished and now he had no frosting.

"I need to make preparations." Itachi said as he strode towards the door. "Kisame, stay here and watch those two."

As soon as Itachi had gone down the stairs, Kisame said, "Work it out you two. Don't say goodbye to each other this way. You'll regret it." With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

At first, neither of them moved or said anything. Sakura was still on his lap, actually.

"I'm so sorry Deidara." She said softly, leaking tears.

"Hmm."

"You have to understand. I can't leave all of my friends, my teachers, everyone. They're the ones who have _always _been there for me, to help me when I was weak. When no one should have liked me. You probably wouldn't have even liked me. You'd have thought I was weak and useless."

"No, I'd have thought you were strong and beautiful and perfect. I'd have thought more of you than that stupid Uchiha boy." He spoke softly.

"How do you know that?" she asked weakly.

"B-because…" he mumbled.

The girl sighed.

"Because I-I… I l-love you." He said so softly, that she could barely hear it.

However, she perked her head up and turned it to face him.

Tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes, and there were salty trails of earlier tears.

These were words that he had never even thought he would ever say, let alone _mean_.

Sakura saw the truth and desperation in his watering eyes.

Quickly, she closed the distance between their lips. It swiftly turned into a passionate, angsty, open-mouthed kiss. Both desperate for the other. If it weren't for the knock on the door, it easily could have developed into more.

"I… I love you Deidara. I always will. I'll miss you." Sakura gave him one more quick kiss before getting up. Together, the four Akatsuki and their 'captive' walked down the stairs and out the door. Before opening the door, they made sure they looked their roles.

Itachi held her by her shoulder, her wrists now bound by chakra bands. She had a gag, though they purposely left it so that she could easily spit it out if necessary.

The four Akatsuki and their captive left the safety of the house to face their three foes. The Copy Ninja, the ink artist, and the Nine-Tailed Fox boy.

* * *

**A/N:**

Oh, what a terrible cliffy! :O Kinda a sucky chapter, too…

Well, it's gonna be one more chapter. And maybe an epilogue. And possibly a sequel if enough people ask in their reviews -coughcough hinthint- Well, at the very least they made up. Lawl. Such a poopy chapter… God, I'm pretty sure Ima write a sequel right now… Curse my impulsiveness! Eh, maybe I'll work on more than one fic next…


	13. One Last Time

**A/N:**

I'm seriously sorry for the long update… I've been busy; vacations, counseloring, etc. Well.. Anyways enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **It ain't mine, people.

**Chapter Thirteen:** **One Last Time**

The group of Akatsuki, along with their captive, marched sullenly out of the house… thing. Well, Sakura and Deidara were the only sullen ones, and that made sense: they were probably never going to see each other again in a pleasant situation.

Like a death sentence.

The four S-ranked criminals stood in a formation of sorts; Itachi and Deidara were 'restraining' Sakura, one on each side. The blonde's thumb absentmindedly rubbed her shoulder.

They stood in an awkward silence for a few moments before Kakashi hesitantly emerged from the trees, flanked on either side by Naruto and Sai. Naruto was glowing a faint orange, his whole appearance was more animalistic.

"Oi, Sakura! We're gonna save you, alright?!" he called, already calming down seeing that she was all right.

Sakura only nodded once as tears began to brim her eyes. Naruto would think they were out of relief, but she and her 'captors' knew it was the grief of losing someone she loved who- this time- loved her back.

Her heart was torn between two blondes.

Her best friend and her lover.

A strong platonic love and a true love was what the world was asking her to decide between.

She couldn't have both. She couldn't choose.

It was then that the nasty exchange of words ended. The words that Sakura missed, thanks to her internal conflict.

That was probably a good thing, though.

The fight was about to break out, that much was obvious. Kakashi had his Sharingan revealed, Itachi's as well. Naruto was on all fours, glowing dangerously red-orange. Sai had his brush and ink ready. Kisame now had Samehada in his hands. Tobi had his hands at his weapon pouches, ready. Deidara still held Sakura's shoulder, though his free hand was already chewing up clay.

He pulled out her gag and leaned down, as if to whisper a command or an order or a threat in her ear. "I love you," he breathed, "I'll always love you, no matter what happens."

Sakura couldn't hide the shock on her face. "I love you, too. It's the same for me." She whispered back.

From across the clearing, Kakashi stared at Sakura's lips, carefully controlling his face. Thanks to the Sharingan, he could read her lips. And now, obviously, he could guess what Deidara had said, or at least the gist of it.

He was only slightly surprised after the whole scene he had witnessed of his student and the criminal on the clay bird.

"I wish you'd stay with me." Deidara whispered back to her.

"Me too." Sakura sighed. "But I can't."

"Why not?"

"Think about it. What kind of life would it be? Constant running?"

"But we'd be together." The blonde argued.

The kunoichi shot him the best skeptical glance she could from her angle.

He shrugged. "We'd still be together."

Sakura's tears began to come faster.

Naruto's growl was audible. "Whatever the hell you're saying to her to make her cry, bastard, you're gonna pay!"

"I'll never love anyone else." Sakura vowed.

"Don't promise me that." Deidara was begging her now, "I want you to be happy."

Before Sakura could respond with her 'I could never be happy without you', Naruto lunged.

The fight began.

Kakashi made a move for Itachi, naturally.

Sai quickly made a move for Kisame, picking the more threatening looking of the two remaining.

Naruto was making a move for Deidara, but was stopped by Tobi.

Deidara pulled Sakura closer to his body.

She watched nervously as people she loved and cared about began locking into combat. She was pretty sure that she didn't want anyone to get hurt, even the Akatsuki members.

So far, it didn't look like anyone was injured yet, for which she was grateful. Still, the urge to scream to everyone to stop was fighting with her common sense.

Similarly, Deidara was resisting the urge to either just run for it with Sakura or simply give her back to her teammates.

Despite his mission, he didn't want Sakura to suffer because _he _assisted in killing her best friend- almost her brother.

The more sensible of the two was to let her go. Running away wouldn't save her friends.

Slowly, he let go of his grasp on her.

"Go, Sakura." He said solemnly.

The kunoichi stared at him with a look of disbelief.

"I don't want you to suffer, so please, go."

Hesitantly, she took a step away from her love. She looked at him longingly for a moment too long; enough time to let Itachi react.

"No." he said, his emotionless mask back.

Now she had a far less lenient restrainer.

Deidara sent her a meaningful look, as he was forced to take on the opponent Itachi had left.

The Copy Nin.

Deidara merely evaded attacks, when he- most likely- could have crushed his attacker.

After all, he _had _defeated the Kazekage… and it had been difficult to capture him _alive_. Although he had had one arm blown off by each, this time, he knew what to watch out for.

And, of course, this did not escape Kakashi's notice.

"I was right." He said softly.

"Right about what, hmm?" Deidara challenged roughly; he couldn't let his whole reputation get ruined.

"You love her." It was a statement, not a question.

The blonde said nothing.

Kakashi stood up- slouching as always- out of his battle-stance. Something like a test.

Deidara made no move to attack.

Kakashi smirked slightly in Sakura's direction. It was a smirk of knowing; he was letting her know that he knew.

Sakura could not peel her eyes off of them, her eyes wide in astonishment.

"Perhaps we could negotiate…?" Kakashi suggested.

Deidara shook his head. "Not possible." He paused before continuing with a sigh, "_I _am the only one who would be willing to negotiate, and they would never allow me."

Kakashi cocked his head to the side in question.

"I would let Sakura and the Nine-Tailed go. The whole point of this mission was to get the Fox. Actually, if he gets away, some lives of the Akatsuki present might be ended."

Kakashi questioned him further with a glance.

"Probably Itachi or Kisame. I already did my job, as you already know. Though, if I allowed you all to get away, it would probably be me." Deidara rambled, hardly making sense.

"And why don't you just want to complete this mission when your life could be at stake?" the older man asked.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Kakashi nodded.

Deidara stole a glance at Sakura, who was watching them intently, her eyes never leaving.

Itachi was probably the only thing that kept her from running over to them now. He didn't look happy, either.

Suddenly, the Uchiha let go of her, perhaps feeling sympathy or remorse or who-knows-what. Sakura immediately bolted forward. She stumbled, then quickly regained her balance and ran quickly over to Kakashi and Deidara.

All three threw a questioning look at him.

Kisame, Tobi, Naruto, and Sai stopped fighting, seeing that Sakura was free in a sense

Deidara pulled Sakura into his arms.

They only stood like that for a moment before something- or someone in this case- pulled them apart.

A very angry, glowing Naruto pushed Sakura behind him. "Don't. Touch. Her." He growled.

"Naruto, it's okay." Sakura said gently.

"No, Sakura. It's not." Deidara whispered. He turned his back on her. "I wish I never met you."

She understood what he meant. Yes, he loved her. But… there was no way they could ever be together. An S-ranked criminal didn't just settle in to a random village because he liked a girl.

And if a girl went with an S-ranked criminal, she would become a target. They would never have a moment of peace. Now, both of them would be in pain.

"Deidara…" she said, stepping around Naruto and reaching for him.

"It really is better this way, Sakura." He said softly, still facing away from her. "Goodbye."

Deidara began to walk towards the rest of the Akatsuki, who were clustered several good yards away, eyeing Kakashi and his team warily.

"Deidara, wait!" Sakura called. Her eyes were beginning to water.

He ignored her.

"Deidara!" she nearly screamed, as she was beginning to break down into hysterics.

Still, he ignored her. She couldn't know how much this hurt him.

She ran after him, ignoring the calls from her teammates and their attempts to grab her. Her eyes were streaming with tears.

It took a moment, because he was a good ways away thanks to his long strides, but she caught up to him and flung her arms around him.

It was a little awkward because he was still facing away from her, but it was enough.

"I love you." She whispered against his back.

"I do, too. Trust me." He mumbled back. It sounded like his voice was about to crack, but he would never admit to it.

Sakura was busy staining his cloak with her tears, but he didn't mind.

"You have no idea how much I love you, hmm."

"I think I do." She sniffed. "Will… will you kiss me one last time? Please?"

He turned around awkwardly in her arms so that he could face her. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Sakura gazed longingly at his lips. "I think it is…" she pouted.

Without warning, she stretched up on her tip toes to touch her lips to his.

As much as Deidara didn't want to make this more painful for her- and himself, for that matter- as soon as her lips met his, any motivation behind that thought was thrown away.

He kissed her back forcefully, desperation and sorrow seeping through his lips.

The moment could have lasted hours or seconds- either way it was much too short- Sakura didn't know, but she felt a hand on her shoulder then. Unwillingly, she tore her lips from Deidara's to see who wanted to pull her away.

Kakashi. Sai stood not far behind, restraining an extremely pissed off Naruto.

"Love you." She whispered to Deidara, turning to search his eyes one last time.

"And I, you." He half smiled. It didn't reach his eyes at all. "More than I think you realize."

He turned, walking towards his fellow Akatsuki members, thinking how unpredictable, accidental, love could be.

* * *

**A/N:** The end! xD well… that's it. I'll probably write an epilogue, and then I'll start working on the sequel. Expect a bit of a delay between that time, because I want the sequel to be better planned out than this… this was sort of an on-the-fly story. I only had a vague plot in my head when I started. Oh, and I'll probably put out a one-shot or two between this and the sequel. Probably SasuNaru… or maybe something from the Twilight series. Sadly, I'm now obsessed with it xD And sorry, for the relative shortness of this chapter. You really can't stretch out an ending without ruining it… Thanks again all of my readers and reviewers! Keep an eye out for the sequel! I have no idea what it's gonna be called yet. Oh, and if you don't know why Itachi let her go, some of the more recent manga chapters… I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't read it.


	14. Epilogue

**A/N:**

Yay for epilogues! Sorry again for the long update.. I have been busy… D: yup. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** it ain't mine people.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Sakura sat at a desk, examining medical papers.

She looked up at the framed pictures of her friends that sat in a clutter on a low hanging shelf. Ino had her own large picture in a frame.

Sakura wouldn't tell anyone, but that was because Ino just reminder her so much of_ him_. It was the hair, she admitted to herself.

That had been a year ago, her captivity that is.

And she'd hardly been allowed to leave the village since; only when it was necessary, or when someone couldn't fill her spot on her team.

Sakura had been stuck in the village. The hospital, to be more specific.

On one of the few missions she _had _gotten to go on, she could've sworn she'd seen a flash of blonde hair in the Akatsuki cloak. Later, she'd seen an abnormally large bird.

That didn't mean anything, though- she'd struggled to convince herself. It had been so soon after she returned, and she was desperate to see him again. It must have been her imagination, right?

A week later, she'd found a speck of clay in her room.

It had to be coincidence. It just had to be.

There was no way _he_- Sakura couldn't bear to say or even think his name- could've gotten into Konoha so stealthily, let alone into her room.

She'd managed to convince her self that Sai and Naruto had gotten into her house yet again. Sai was an artist… he could have been using clay... right?

She'd never bothered to ask, knowing that if it hadn't been Sai, she'd have hysterics and hope too much.

Still, that tiny, fingernail sized piece of clay was beloved to her.

At the moment, it was sitting on her bedside table.

She sighed, and focused on the present.

It was starting to get late; it was nearing eleven-thirty at night. Much too late to still be working at the hospital. Sakura was the only one left in here.

She sighed again and shuffled her papers, writing down a few more things before putting it into a neat pile on the upper right corner of her desk.

Quickly and quietly, she cleaned up the small office room inside the hospital that she used to review patients' medical papers and work on new techniques and such.

Satisfied with the state of the room, she grabbed her small bag and left the hospital, locking all the doors behind her.

Since she usually the last one at the hospital at night, and earliest in the morning, she had her own key. Not to mention her importance there.

She scuffed her feet as she walked back to her apartment since she was in no hurry.

Sakura did her best to stay in proximity of the widely spaced street lights and kept her distance from the rowdy bars.

Sure, she could take out any one of those guys that tried to lay even a finger on her, but she'd rather save herself the trouble.

Usually, no one approached Sakura, knowing who she was, but tonight someone did.

He looked like he was in his mid forties. He definitely wasn't a ninja. And he looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey honey," he slurred, "wanna come wif me an hafa good timeeee?"

Without even turning to look at him, Sakura brought her other hand around and hit him square on the nose. Not hard enough to do any permanent damage, just to break it… painfully.

She continued walking without missing a step.

A little faster than before, but still. Behind her, she could hear the drunk cussing in pain and anger. She only managed to understand a few of the words:_ bitch, cunt, fucking, slut, whore, fucker, nose._ It didn't help her anger.

She sighed in relief when she reached the door to her apartment and unlocked it without a second thought.

She dropped her keys on the table next to the door, as usual and hung her bag in the closet.

She stopped in the kitchen to grab a quick snack; peanut butter on a piece of untoasted bread.

After that, Sakura trudged her way to the bathroom. She jumped into the shower brainlessly.

The warm water felt good on her muscles, stiff from sitting all day, of all things.

She let it relax her, just standing in the stream for a good ten or fifteen minutes.

Unwillingly, she turned off the water and stepped out of the tub before quickly pulling on a bath robe.

While she was still in the bathroom, she brushed her hair and teeth.

With a slight smile on her face, she stumbled out of the bathroom towards her room.

The thought of sleep was so nice.

She quickly pulled some pajamas out of a drawer in her dresser and stepped into them before collapsing on the bed and curling up.

She stiffened.

It was now that she realized she wasn't alone.

Sakura grabbed the kunai that sat one her bedside table and flicked on the little desk lamp. She was now fully alert and in a defensive stance.

She spotted her intruder. She froze. The kunai slipped from her hand.

And then she flung herself at him.

Sakura wrapped her arms around him, her eyes already streaming tears.

"D-D... Deidara," she cried against his chest.

His arms wrapped around her.

"I only have a few minutes." He whispered softly to Sakura.

"No!" she shouted a bit too loud.

Deidara grimaced.

Sakura looked up at him with pleading eyes.

The blonde sighed and lowered his head towards hers.

Sakura reached up on her tip toes to meet his lips sooner.

After a few short moments, Deidara pulled away- much too soon, in Sakura's opinion.

"I really do have to go now." He sighed, reluctance and sorrow showing through his eyes. "I love you."

He pecked her on the lips quickly before preparing to hop out the window that Sakura hadn't noticed was open until now.

She bit back her tears, refusing to show him the pain this caused her.

"I love you, too." she managed to whisper, trying her hard not to let her voice crack. She was unsuccessful.

Deidara looked back at her, remorse thick in his expression. "I shouldn't have come." he whispered to his self, "look how much pain I'm causing you."

"Don't go," she suggested, unhopefully; she knew he couldn't stay however much they both wanted it.

"I have to." He said softly, "Besides, you'll need to tell your Kage that I was here." he hinted at some plot that must be going on. He took a step towards her and quickly kissed her again.

"I love you so much. I want you to be happy, no matter what." He whispered into Sakura's ear.

And then he was gone.

Like a summer breeze, departed too soon.

"I love you, Deidara, never anyone else." She said to the empty space before curling up in her bed and crying herself to sleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

Well, there you have it. Kinda sad, but eh. There's still a sequel lol… and yes, it's short. I really couldn't stretch this out more with useless poop like I usually do Dx but who cares… it's an epilogue! So now we shall wait for the sequel… I'm still not sure what the name is gonna be, so just keep an eye out for a new story… it may be a month or two. And I might feel like putting a few one shots out between this and the sequel… I hope you all like this! Thanks, once more to all of my readers and reviewers! Sorry again for the long delay! Oh, and I do have one questioon... I'm going to put the sequel in someones P.O.V... if you review, could you please let me know which you'd prefer...


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